


Keep Yourself Hidden Away

by Anonymous_muxician



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: BAMF Yasmin Khan, Eventual Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan, F/F, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 93,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22996396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous_muxician/pseuds/Anonymous_muxician
Summary: Yaz had always been someone who stuck out in the world, whether that be for her religion or just the way she looked, but neither of those things even began to cover what truly made her different.Follow Yaz as she navigates through meeting the Doctor, a mysterious woman who literally fell into her life, while also having her own past and present to figure out along the way.In 'Keep Yourself Hidden Away'.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan
Comments: 30
Kudos: 107





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Yooooooooo sup guys I'm gonna try and write a full ass story and I hope you'll stick around for the end result! Enjoy!
> 
> Bre

"You can't tell people about this, Yaz." Najia said, gripping Yaz's hands between her own. 

Yaz's room was trashed, papers strewn about, the mirror hanging on the wall broken, even the chairs placed around the room were tipped over at various angles. Definitely not where they should have been, and Yaz was at fault. 

Yaz was sat at the foot of her bed with her mother kneeling in front of her, holding Yaz's eyes with her own serious gaze. Najia's grip was tight, and if Yaz wasn't so afraid in that moment she may have tried to pull away from it. 

"About what? I don't even know what _this_ is!" Yaz replied, her eyes frantically moving between her mother's. Having seen the fear spread across her daughter's face, Najia's eyes softened. 

"I'm sorry, Yaz. I should've told you about this sooner." She said, guilt taking over her expression, which didn't help Yaz's predicament at all. She lashed out again. 

"Tell me what?!" She nearly screeched, causing her mother to quickly shush her, looking around the room as if someone may be listening. 

"Shh! Shh, Yaz. I know, I'll explain everything, but I need you to calm down."

Yaz looked at her incredulously. Calm down? She wanted her to calm down?

Seeing the shift in her daughter's expression, Najia backtracked, nodding her head in recognition of her misstep. 

"Okay, I admit that was stupid."

Yaz almost smiled, before taking a deep breath and speaking. "Mom, what's going on? What's wrong with me?" 

"There's nothing wrong with you, Yasmin."

Yaz scoffed.

"There's _not_." Najia insisted, gaze boring into Yaz's own confused and broken one. "Our family, it's different from other families."

The confusion on Yaz's face grew, prompting her mother to continue. "Your grandmother, she has these... powers. As does my older sister, and... so do you, Yaz." She said, gripping Yaz's hands tighter still. 

"Powers?" Yaz asked, confused beyond belief. "What does that even _mean_? What kind of powers?" Her voice was rising in pitch, she was not calm. 

"Yasmin!" Her mother cut her rambling questions off, her gaze along with her grip imploring her to listen.

"We aren't completely sure, but we think it's passed down through generations to the oldest child. Which is you, Yaz."

Yaz shook her head, sure she must be going insane. "We? Who's we?"

"Your grandmother, your aunt, and me. We began talking about it as soon as you were born."

"Why didn't you tell me about it before now?" She asked, temper rising. "Why keep me unprepared and leave me to destroy my room when this all could've avoided?" She finished, not even noticing her hands in her mother's, which were beginning to glow a faint purple. 

Najia noticed, however, and to her credit did not let go, but kept her face calm and looked at their hands, causing Yaz to do the same. She released a gasp, already trying to pull her hands from her mother's grip, to no avail. Her hold was too tight, but her eyes were gentle. 

"Yaz, it's okay."

"Okay?! None of this is okay!" She yelled, still trying to pull her hands away. "Let go! I don't want to hurt you!"

Najia sighed, guilt rising within her at her daughter's obvious panic. "Yaz!" She said, catching her attention. "You're not going to hurt me, okay?"

"How do you _know_ that?!" Yaz asked, tears settling in her eyes. 

"Because, Yaz, I know _you_. You're my daughter, the girl who would never hurt anyone. The girl who puts everyone before herself, even if I prefer she wouldn't." She finished, finally drawing a small smile from her daughter. The first of the night. 

Yaz sniffed, removing one of her hands from her mother's grip to wipe the tears that escaped down her cheeks. 

"Okay... Okay, I'll listen. I need to know this if I'm going to learn to control it." Yaz said, returning her hand to her mother, who smiled up at her daughter, proud of her for always managing to keep a level head, even after being told news that would surely change everything. 

"Can I sit next to you?" Najia asked carefully, not wanting to push. And, although her expression was wary, Yaz slowly nodded, moving her own body to be slightly more off centered to give her mother room to sit. 

After joining her daughter on her bed, Najia turned to Yasmin. "Before we start, did you have any questions you really need to ask?"

Yaz nodded immediately, turning her own body to face her mother, pulling on leg up under her other to make it easier. "I get why I can't tell anyone. That makes sense." She said, glad for the flash of relief on her mothers face at knowing she wouldn't have to push her for secrecy. Not that Yaz was exactly an open book in the first place.

"I guess mainly, why now? Why are they just now coming?" She asked, already curious about this newfound aspect of her life. 

Najia had expected that question, really. Her daughter always had been too clever for her own good. "My mother and my sister both got their powers at some point between their 18th and 19th birthdays, so when you turned 19, I was beginning to think that you weren't going to get them at all. But I guess you were just a late bloomer in that way." She said, smiling when her daughter cringed at her use of the phrase. 

Yaz was quiet for a moment before speaking. "So I guess they're connected to adulthood or something? Or to age, to an extent?" She asked, turning to her mother who was nodding in agreement. 

"That would make sense." Najia said. "Anything else?"

Again, Yaz nodded, mind already racing with possible questions. "What exactly are my powers? And how do I control them?" She asked, figuring the two answers would be related. 

"Good questions! Now is a good time to get into that." Najia said, a small smile on her face. "If I'm correct, you actually have quite a few things you're going to have to learn how to control, and I think a couple of things are going to take a bit longer to come in."

"Like what?" Yaz asked, already wary of what she would soon be going through. 

"The one that comes in first is the telekinesis, which is what caused you to throw everything around the room. It takes the most time to control so it's good that it comes first." Najia started, watching her daughter look around the room at the mention of it. 

"Okay..." Yaz started, gaze returning to her mother, although seemingly more determined than before, as if she was starting to come around to the whole idea, which was a relief to Najia. "What else?"

"I believe the next power is mind reading, which I'm warning you now, will be very overwhelming at first. You'll need to work on controlling that as well."

"Mind reading? I don't want to be in people's heads all the time!" Yaz said, frowning hard at the idea of dealing with not only her thoughts, but others as well. 

Najia sighed. "I know, but you will learn to control it eventually. It'll be as easy as breathing. Like flipping a switch."

Still not enjoying the idea of hearing thoughts that aren't hers, Yaz sighed and gestured for her mother to continue with a nod of her head. 

"After that, it's speed, and energy manipulation." She said, and immediately Yaz's face screwed up, an incredulous expression. 

"Speed? Energy manipulation? What does that even mean?" She asked, waving her arms in front of her in exasperation. 

"Okay, well to me it looks like super speed, but mum told me that to her it's more like slowing time. And as for energy manipulation, there's a lot to unpack there." She said, smiling apologetically. 

"What do you mean?" Asked Yaz, obviously still confused.

"I mean, I'm not quite sure what all it could be used for. Mum just says it's like shaping your energy to become something else. I guess it's sort of open to interpretation? Or how you use it?" Najia answered, shrugging helplessly.

Yaz scoffed, buring her face in her hands. "Open to interpretation. Okay, mum." She said, still trying to process everything she had just been told. "I guess that'll depend on circumstances?" She tried, looking towards her mother for confirmation, who nodded to appease her. 

Yaz sighed again. "Okay." She said. "And how do I control it?" 

"That's the fun part." Najia said, smiling at her daughter. "There's a clearing in the woods a few miles from here that I think will work."

"Work for what?" Yaz asked.

Her mother's smile grew. "Target practice." She said, getting up and gesturing at Yaz to follow before walking out her door. 

Yaz sighed, but stood up anyway. She almost didn't believe the past few hours, could almost pass it off as a dream. But, as she turned around and took a look around her bedroom, she was reminded of the truth behind the conversation. Eyes catching on the debris scattered around her room, she clenched her fists and quickly turned away, striding out the door after her mother. 

To where she would learn how to be who she was supposed to be.


	2. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Time jump to a few months after to first chapter
> 
> Yaz is not far along in her training but still appears to show a particular affinity in the control of the powers she'd recently developed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I'm not quite sure what I'm doing with this story but I hope you'll stick around to find out! This chapter is about 3k words and I hope you enjoy it! Leave comments and tell me what you think! But don't be mean. ;)
> 
> Bre

*3 months later*

"Good! Try again!" Najia said, stalking toward the rocks that Yaz had managed to maneuver into a tall stack. Najia bent and took a closer look, nodding in approval at the perfectly stacked stones in front of her, before sticking her hand out and not so gently pushing it over, causing about a dozen rocks to scatter to the ground. 

Yaz took a deep breath, pride washing over her at her mother's affirmation of her effort. She then reached out from where she sat on the ground just a few feet in front of where the small stack had been and, as if by second nature, which at that point it was, a dark purple mist glided from her open palms towards the rocks scattered around her. It took only seconds, the mist wrapping around each of the rocks separately but simultaneously and arranging them in a neat stack from the largest to the smallest. 

Her mother nodded again, obviously impressed. "Incredible. You know, it took much longer for your aunt to get control of these powers, but you've managed to all but master them in just a few months."

Yaz chuckled. "It just feels normal now. It's amazing, just feels like another limb or something." She said, letting go and watching her powers expand from her in a wave, weaving through the grass and flowers around them. She felt connected to everything in a way that made her so comfortable. "Like I was meant to have them." She finished with a smile, pulling her powers back in, a gentle purple glow disappearing from her eyes. 

"Alright." Najia said with a proud smile. "Let's clean this up, you have work soon." Her smile grew at her daughter's groan as she stood and they both began packing things up. 

Yaz was turned away and looking at the trees around them, deep in thought. Najia took one the rocks at her feet and, passing it between her hands a couple times, lobbed it toward her daughter, who was still not looking her way. The lob wasn't hard, and Najia was sure it wouldn't hurt her daughter if it hit her.

Displaying instincts and speed Najia had not yet seen however, Yaz's power reached out behind her, catching the stone mere inches from her body. Slowly turning out and plucking the stone out of the air, she gave her mother an unimpressed look. "Really? I could _feel_ your intention." She said, having felt her mind briefly connect with her mother's

Her mother's own expression, however, was quite impressed, smiling a proud smile. "I just wanted to see what would happen. That was impressive." She said, nodding in approval. Yaz just sighed in amusement, shaking her head at her mother before turning to leave, but before doing so, she slowed the time around her, picking up the stones and putting them in a small orderly pile before speeding it up again, a smug smile at the surprise on her mother's face. "Well, I'm impressive. Come on. I have work in an hour." She said, already walking away. 

* * *

"I keep telling you, I am capable of more than just parking disputes." Yaz said, running a hand through her hair in frustration, sighing as her chief officer's crackling voice came through the phone. 

"And I keep telling you, don't run before you can walk. You're a probationary, Yaz." He said, obviously amused at her current dilemma. She rolled her eyes.

"I want to do more." Yaz replied, imploring him to listen to her. "Can you not get them to give my something that'll test me? Something a bit different." She heard rustling through the phone, and a small silence before it was broken.

"There is something that just came in, if you want different." 

Something told Yaz it wasn't going to be quite what she meant when she asked for more. But regardless, she asked for the address and, after sighing at the knowledge that the call came from the middle of the woods, hung up the call and sped off in that direction. 

It was a short ride but Yaz left the radio off, preferring to drive in silence while she was on the job, wanting to always keep her focus, although there wasn't much need for focus on the jobs she was called to do. She pulled into a parking lot just off the edge of the woods, turning the cruiser off and stepping out, walking into the cover of trees in front of her. 

The walk wasn't far, and after only a few minutes she came into contact with a young man. Dark skinned, about her age, and obviously confused, if his expression was anything to go by. "Hallamshire police." She introduced, and he acknowledged her by looking her way briefly before looking forward once more. She stepped up beside him and, after seeing what was on the ground only a few yards in front of her, felt her own expression shift to one of confusion. 

It was the shape of a tear drop, a shining, textured object of blues and reds. Yaz had never seen anything like it before, and wasn't sure what to make of it. 

"So you say you just found it here?" She asked, already pulling out the pen and notebook she kept in her vest and preparing to write.

"No, I said it just appeared." He replied, irritation clear in his voice. Yaz sighed. So it was one of _those_ calls. "Right." She said, stepping toward the object in question. 

He rolled his eyes. "This isn't a prank. I just came down here to get my bike." Yaz raised an eyebrow, looking around for said bike. "And where's your bike?" She asked.

"In that tree." He said, pointing above them. Sure enough, a bike sat tangled in the tree branches about a dozen feet above them. Yaz's eyebrows scrunched together. _How?_ Instead of asking she just sighed. "Name, sir."

He sighed as well, obviously realizing he was getting nowhere. "Ryan Sinclair." 

Something clicked in Yaz's head, and her gaze shot up towards the boy, realizing she knew that name. She thought he was familiar. "Wait, Redland's Primary?" She asked.

Obviously not sure about her line of questioning he hesitated, but answered nonetheless. "Yeah?" 

"Yasmin Khan." She introduced, gesturing to herself with the pen in her hand. Something obviously clicked with him as well, as his eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh, my god! Yaz?" Yaz chuckled at his excitement, nodding as he continued. "Wow. Look at you! You're a fed!" 

"Yeah! We don't call it that, though. I'm still training, second year probationary." She said, still smiling. "What about you? What are you up to?" 

"Warehouse worker." He said, face scrunching up in distaste. "It's cash while I study for my NVQ. Trying to be a mechanic." 

"That's good." Yaz finished, smile sliding off her face and effectively ending that line of conversation before turning back to the matter at hand. "You need to take this away though, seriously. It's gonna be dark in a minute. You can't dump this here."

"I didn't!" He said. "I can't even lift it." 

She narrowed her eyes at him, briefly connecting their minds just to verify his declared innocence. Her head tilted slightly to the side when she realized that he was being honest, but she had no time to dig deeper because at that moment he spoke.

"Touch it." He said, and she did a double take. "What?" She exclaimed, looking back at the object and not liking the way it looked. Ryan didn't say any more, just gestured toward it in encouragement. Yaz hesitated, but stepped toward it all the same. Perhaps it wasn't her smartest moment, but she'd have been lying if she said she wasn't curious. She'd never seen anything like the object in front of them. 

It was with that thought that she reached her hand out slowly and laid it against the surface of the object, yanking it back only milliseconds later, the shock almost pulling her powers out of her protectively, but she reined them in just barely. She'd never felt anything so cold. Cold enough it was almost hot to the touch, and she looked at her palm, expecting there to be some mark even from just the single moment her hand came into contact with the object. She was correct, although luckily it was just slightly redder than normal, and she looked back towards Ryan. "See?" He said. "It's freezing." 

"I don't know what to do here." She admitted helplessly. "This isn't normal."

Ryan looked back at her, shrugging his own shoulders and implying that he joined her in that thought. 

They were both startled when Ryan's phone cut through the silence, the ringing sounding louder than normal in the cover of the trees. He reached into his pocket and pulled the phone out, looking at the caller ID before answering it and putting it against his ear. "Nan?" He questioned first before falling silent.

Yaz from her spot next to Ryan could hear the voice coming through the phone. Could hear it clear at first and then not so clear as it began to cut out. _"Ryan, love, our train stopped between Hathersage and Grindleford."_ She heard, followed shortly by, "and something really wei-rd's go-ing o-." Before the call finally cut out for good. Putting the phone down Ryan looked at her in obvious panic, and Yaz didn't hesitate before nodding at him.

"Let's go." 

The ride was silent, and neither of them wanted to break it or the tense atmosphere that surrounded them, although they could both feel the panic saturating the air between them. Yaz's hands gripped the wheel as the sped down the streed toward the area Ryan's nan had given him, her powers sizzling at the surface of her skin. She could feel them burning almost as brightly as the sirens loudly blaring on top of her cruiser. When they reached the tracks Yaz quickly pulled off the road, not liking the feeling that was building up inside of her. Almost like her instincts were trying to prepare her for something. 

They drove along the length of the tracks, eyes scanning in front of them trying to see where the train may have stopped. It didn't take long, as they came upon the train just moments later, stationary on the track with plumes of smoke and steam coming from various areas along with crowds of people standing off to the side and ambling off toward the road. Bringing the car to a stop, both Ryan and Yaz quickly tumbled out of their respective doors, hurrying towards the front of the train. 

Yaz reached it first, trying the door and, when that didn't work, looked in the broken window before suddenly pulling back, a haunted look in her eyes that Ryan quickly noticed as he caught up with her. "What?" He asked, and again when she didn't answer the first time. "Yaz, what is it?" He took a step toward the window, but stopped as he felt a grip on his sleeve. He looked at the the owner of the hand. She shook her head. "You really don't want to look in there. We should find another way in." She said, imploring him to listen. She should have expected him not to, because as soon as she let go, he rushed over to the broken glass, and not even she was quick enough to stop him. She closed her eyes briefly, waiting for him to catch sight of the woman slumped over in the driver's seat. 

She heard his gasp and, opening her eyes, she looked at him sadly. Yaz was slightly better prepared for that sort of thing than Ryan, but that didn't make it any less painful. She sighed. "Come on, we have to go in." She said, and he nodded, obviously trying to appear strong and less affected than he was. She gripped his shoulder in a small show of comfort, and they climbed in.

Once in, they quickly bypassed the engine and went into the next train car, scanning for anybody who may still be inside. They got through the train cars quickly, but Yaz's instincts flared more and more the deeper they got into the train. There was obviously something wrong, but there was nothing visually to back up her instincts. Regardless, she turned to Ryan. "Be careful, there's obviously something going on here and we need to be prepared." 

He nodded in assent, following after her into the next car.

Just a few cars later, they could feel the whole atmosphere of the train shift. Like it was almost... charged, in a way that neither of them understood in that moment. They crept forward still, slower now that they could for sure tell that something was off. The closer they got, the more they could tell, until they got to the second to last car, about to enter the last. The lights were flashing around them, and they could see them still flashing through the door in front of them.

They could hear the yelling and Yaz recognized none of it, although Ryan appeared to, if his expression was anything to go by. She looked towards him, gauging whether or not he was ready and, when he nodded, pushed the door open in front of them. 

Yaz noticed many things in that moment. First was Ryan's yell of "Nan!" at the woman that was obviously his grandmother along with a few other people crowded against the back wall. Next, was the flashing lights were much brighter on that side of the door, and Yaz almost had to cover her eyes to protect them from the burn of it. Finally, Yaz noticed the source of the flashing. It was, due to the inability to describe it, a blob. A wiry blob-like creature that shot blades of electricity toward all of them, and the next thing Yaz registered was pain. Just near her collarbone and just sharp enough for her to keel over, barely noticing the others around her doing the same. 

She definitely noticed the creature leave however, crashing through the roof that Yaz just realized had a hole in it before the creature went through it. She slowly unfolded herself, coming to stand tall again when she made a final realization. 

There was a woman between the two groups. A blonde, shoulder-length haired woman about her height wearing a tattered suit that was obviously much too large for her lanky body and boots so big that Yaz wondered how she kept on her feet. 

It wasn't all this that surprised Yaz, though. It was the weird sort of buzzing that Yaz could hear coming from her, almost like static and, although she wasn't connected to anyone's mind, she somehow knew that if she were to connect to this woman, she wouldn't have much success. She was so caught up in her curiosity she almost didn't notice the woman looking back at her with the same expression, like Yaz had surprised her. 

Yaz startled. Could this woman tell she was different? But just as Yaz started to panic, the woman shook her head slightly as if snapping herself out of something before turning away from her and towards the rest of them. Yaz breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she was in the clear. 

"You three, relax. Stay put while I check the rest of the train." The woman said to the three people opposite Yaz and Ryan before turning to them instead. "Fat lot of use you two were." She brushed past them. 

Yaz almost retaliated, readying herself for an offended "hey!" when something happened as the woman came into contact with her on accident as she tried to shove past her and Ryan. She's not sure how to describe it, but it was almost like an electric shock radiating through her head, or like someone had knocked on the door to her mind. She stared hard at the other woman, who had come to an abrupt stop as well. 

The two stared at each other and it was in that moment that Yaz knew this woman was different. And that this woman knew that _she_ was different. The blonde opened her mouth to speak, but Yaz shook her head quickly, hoping she'd get the message. Her mouth shut quickly, and her eyes widened slightly, but she seemed to understand she needed to let it go in that moment, because she quickly snapped out of it and turned away from them once more, stalking down the train in front of them.

Yaz sighed in relief, but tensed up again as she felt Ryan's eyes on her. He was obviously confused at the exchange, but he was also frightened at the circumstances, so he apparently decided to wait to bring it up, and Yaz relaxed again, both of them following after the strange woman. 

"Madam this could be a potential crime scene, I need you to listen to me." Yaz said, trying to take charge again and keep everyone safe. 

The woman turned to her, confused. "Why are you calling me madam?" She asked, face scrunching up in a way that made her nose wrinkle. Yaz looked at her strange. "Because you're a woman?" She said, almost like a question, and the woman's expression did a complete 180.

"Am I?" She asked excitedly. "Does it suit me?" 

"What?" 

"Oh! I remember." The blonde rambled on. "Sorry, half an hour ago I was a white haired Scotsman." She shifted topics quickly, striding ahead of them once more. "When's the next train due?"

"This is the last one back." Ryan cut in, following behind Yaz as they worked to keep up.

"But the doors are locked, how did you both get in?" 

Yaz sighed, finally conceding control to this woman. Trusting her for a reason unbeknownst to her. "Driver's side window was smashed in." She said, drawing the woman's attention back to her. 

"What's your name?" The woman asked, taking them to the front of the train.

"Yasmin Khan. Yaz to my friends." Yaz said, not sure why she had tacked on that last part, but moving past it all the same as they came upon the woman in the driver's seat, reminding Yaz of the life that had been lost that night. 

The woman looked saddened as well, but still reached over to the control panel, flicking the switches to power the train on as well as turn on the lights and unlock the doors before turning to the woman slumped in the chair in front of them. "Poor woman." She said, sympathetic.

"That thing must've killed her as it came through." Ryan said, trying hard not to look affected.

"Must it?" The blonde said, mouth flattening in disagreement. "It didn't kill anyone else. Looks more like she died of shock when it smashed through the window." She finished, sparing the woman one last glance before turning around and heading back towards where they had left the others. 

"Come on, Ryan. Come on, Yaz." She leaned closer to Yaz. "I'm calling you Yaz, because we're friends now." 

When they reached the last car the other three were still stood in the back, obviously frightened at the events that had taken place that night. "Right then, troops. No, not troops. Team. Gang. Fam?" She started, rambling and earning herself various looks of disbelief. Yaz just shook her head, taking the information of the man who seemed to be the odd one out. The only one who didn't know someone else. As she wrote down his name, Carl, and number she was still vaguely tuned into the conversation between the blonde woman and the rest of them. 

"I'm distracting myself." She said, shaking her head slightly.

"You came crashing through that roof." Ryan's nan said, who Yaz now knew to be called Grace, while pointing toward the large hole in the roof of the train car in obvious disbelief. 

"I was thrown out of my TARDIS." Yaz heard, and tilted her head while still listening to the man in front of her. There was a gasp. "Oh, I've lost my TARDIS." The woman said, sounding miserable at the fact, although Yaz wasn't sure what a 'TARDIS' was. "It was exploding, and it dematerialized." More deep breaths.

"Don't panic. It's not the end of the world- Well, it could be the end of the world, but once thing at a time." She sighed, and Yaz finally turned to join them, sidling up next to the blonde and listening for her next words, but careful not to touch her again. 

Grace's husband, who Yaz learned was named Graham, spoke up. His expression having grown more and more bewildered the more the woman spoke. "Are we supposed to understand a thing you're saying?" 

Ryan cut in. "She thinks that thing is an alien." He said, shrugging as it he hadn't just said something certifiably insane, and Graham obviously thought so too, as he scoffed. "Don't be daft. There's no such thing as aliens. And even if there was, they ain't gonna be on a train in Sheffield." Something in that sentence obviously caught the woman's attention, as her gaze shifted to him, intense in a way Yaz found odd. 

"Why not? I'm alien and I'm here." She said, prompting a silence all around them. Graham stared back for a moment, obviously trying to gauge her sincerity and, having not liked what he found, quickly turned to his wife. "Grace we're going." He said, trying to pull her along to no avail as she stood her ground and resisted.

"No, we're not. She just saved our lives." Grace said, gesturing towards the woman in question, who stepped forward at the call out. "Don't be scared." She started, looking towards Graham imploringly. "All of this is new to you and new can be scary. Now, we all want answers. Stick with me and you might get some."

"Actually, um-" Everybody turned to look at Carl, who had been lingering behind them the whole time. "I don't want answers. I just want to get to work and forget all about this, if that's alright with everyone. Even if it isn't." His gaze shifted between Yaz and the blonde woman. "Thank you." He finished awkwardly before abruptly turning and leaving, all of them watching his exit.

"Think he's still in shock." Grace said. "Bless him." 

The blonde woman sighed, pulling everyone's attention back to her. "Obvious question, but has anyone else seen anything else out of the ordinary tonight?"

Yaz and Ryan's eyes meet immediately, and the boy starts to slowly raise his hand. "I have, actually. Yaz and I have." He clarified.

"What did you see?"

Ryan and Yaz shared another look, before Yaz turned to them. "Probably best if we just take you there." She said, waiting for them to nod before leading the way back to her cruiser. They all piled in, the blonde woman sitting in the passenger seat while the other three crowded into the back. It was silent as Yaz pulled back onto the road, heading back towards where her and Ryan had come from, until the woman spoke. 

"So, you three know each other?" She asked the three in the back, turning in her seat to see them as they nodded, Grace speaking for them. "Ryan's my grandson, and Graham's my husband." She said, ignoring Ryan's whispered " _second husband_." Under his breath. Yaz raised her eyebrows, there was obviously some tension there that Yaz was sure she didn't want to get involved in right then. 

"And you two know each other?" She asked again, but this time aimed at Yaz and Ryan, who both nodded. "Yeah. Yaz and I were at school together." Ryan said, which prompted his nan in return who leaned forward slightly. "Not Yasmin Khan?" She said, starting to smile in surprise. Yaz smiled back in confirmation. "Hello, Ryan's nan." She said cheekily, smiling brightly. 

"Haven't you done well for yourself, love?" Grace said, sending pride flooding through Yaz, but before she could say anything to thank her the blonde woman cut in again.

"So you say you just found it there, this thing?" She asked Ryan, who nodded quickly. "Yeah. I took pictures." He said, pulling out his phone as he does and bringing up the photos. The woman smiled, impressed at his smart thinking. "Good lad." She said, taking the phone from him and looking through the pictures. "This is exciting. No, not exciting. What do I mean? Worrying." She finished turning to Yaz. "Fast as you can, Yaz." 

Nobody spoke as the car sped down the road. 

It was only a few minutes until they reached the woods again, and everyone piled out to start walking towards the trees, Ryan and Yaz in the lead. It was pitch black, and there were only the lights from Yaz's flashlight and Ryan's phone guiding their way through the trees. 

"There's my bike." She heard Ryan say, seeing him gesture towards the tree where his bike still resided. "Why's it in a tree?" The woman asked, looking towards the bike in question although not overly shocked. 

"We were up top and I dropped it over." Ryan said, and Yaz could tell he was embarrassed by the way his tone changed to almost sheepish, which was furthered when his nan cut in. "He gets cross because he can't ride it." She said, paying no mind as Ryan's face was getting redder and redder, noticeable even through his dark skin and the lack of lighting around them. "He's got dyspraxia, you see. It's a coordination disorder." 

"Alright, enough about me." Ryan said, obviously trying to change the subject. "The tree's to the left so it should be..." He trails off, looking at the ground in front of them where the only traces of anything amiss were the broken leaves and twigs. "It was definitely there." Yaz said, shocked and worried that the object wasn't where they had left it. They watched the woman walk around the edge of the small clearing, before kneeling in front of them, her face shadowed, lit only by artificial light. "So where's it gone?" 


	3. Transference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang splits up to try and find any information on the weird things happening in Sheffield that night. Yaz gets to use her particular skills to further along their investigation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. I'm not going to lie to you and say I have some sort of schedule for posting these chapters. I write when I'm inspired, and there's no telling when that'll be. I hope you stick with me! Enjoy!
> 
> Bre

Grace guided the way back to her and Graham's house where they decided they would set up base for that night. All except for Yaz stepped out and gathered around the driver's side window to quickly fill everyone in on what the plan was. The blonde woman leaned in first, looking toward Yaz intently. "Two weird things, one city, same night. Makes me nervous." She said, her hands gripping the frame of the door, leaning heavily on them. 

"I'll see if there have been any more reports on that object." Yaz replied, looking back toward the woman, noticing her heavy leaning on the door. As she looked closer she could tell she was tired, exhausted even, but before Yaz could say anything the woman spoke again, nodding. "Good. We need all the information we can get. Meet us back here." Yaz nodded in agreement and, after the woman let go of the car, sped off down the street towards the precinct. 

The five minute drive was just enough for Yaz to get lost in her thoughts, and she began getting caught up in thinking about the events of the night. _Aliens, and that woman, apparently also an alien. Right._ She thought, shaking her head in disbelief. Her thoughts moved to the woman herself, and the weird fuzziness Yaz could hear whenever she looked at her, and the way it felt when they had brushed up against each other, as if they had connected but neither was able to read anything. 

Yaz could figure that there was something going on with the woman telepathically, that that was the reason for the strange buzzing whenever they are near. She knew they would likely have some sort of conversation before the night was out, and Yaz was hoping that she wouldn't be forced into sharing more than she would prefer. Although, given the current circumstances, Yaz wouldn't be surprised if something were to push her hand and cause her powers to be utilized. 

Regardless, she hoped not. Her mother repeatedly told her to never tell anyone, that she would likely be taken if anybody were to find out, and Yaz believed her. After all, she's sure there aren't many humans with powers like hers, and that there are absolutely people that would love to study her if they got the chance. 

As she pulled up to the precinct, parking her car and turning it off, she shook her head to bring herself back into the present. She had a job to do, so she quickly got out of the car and hurried inside, looking around for her chief officer and, after catching a glimpse of him walking towards his office, speeding over to him. He must see her rushing him because he rolls his eyes and speeds up slightly. "Yaz, your shift is over, quit lobbying for more interesting shouts. Go home."

Yaz sighed. "It's not that. I just need to know if there's been anything else out of the ordinary tonight." She says, still chasing after him, only stopping when he himself does in front of his office door. He turns to her, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "It's the night shift in Sheffield. Everything is out of the ordinary." He stated, before quickly turning around and walking through the door, letting it shut in her face. 

Groaning in frustration, Yaz turned and ran her hand through her hair. There was nothing else for her to do except meet up with the others, but she paused, looking down at her uncomfortable uniform that she'd been wearing since early that afternoon. _A quick change wouldn't hurt anyone,_ she thought, hurrying towards her personal car and unlocking it, climbing in the drivers seat in a hurry before speeding off towards her home. 

When she got there she opened the door quietly, although she knew that nobody would be home. She quickly got changed out of her uniform and into more comfortable attire that consisted of a sweater covered by a pink fur coat, as well as jeans and her faded pink tennis shoes. Walking back out into the living room, she looked around, and noticed it looking the exact same as it had when she had left earlier that afternoon. She wasn't sure what she'd expected, nothing had changed but for some reason things felt different. Like things would never be the same. 

Shaking her head to snap herself out of her musings, Yaz quickly grabbed her keys again and hurried out the door, jogging to her car and getting in. 

Yaz once again left the radio off as she sped off towards Grace's house. It didn't feel right to listen to music when so many serious things were going on around her. Luckily for her though, the ride was short, and Grace's house was just up the street from her own flat. 

When she reached it, she quickly pulled over in front of the house and turned off her car, getting out and hurrying to the front door, knocking gently. 

It only took a few seconds before it was opened to reveal Ryan's form in front of her, arm waving in a gesture for her to enter. She did, and looked around as she moved further into the house. It was small, but homey. Exactly the kind of house she would expect Ryan's nan to be living in. As she continued to scan the room in front of her she caught sight of the blonde woman slumped on the couch, fast asleep. 

"What happened to her?" She asked, still looking towards the blonde. 

"She passed out right after you left. Stuck her finger in her nose and said she was going to pass out in 19 seconds." He replied, shrugging when she gave in an incredulous look. "Nan said she's got two separate pulses."

Yaz just stared at her, thoughts moving quickly through her head. Even as she stood there, as the woman was fast asleep, she could still hear the faint buzzing coming through her own head. She was still watching her when she heard the door open quietly behind them, Graham shuffling inside and nodding at them both when he saw them standing in the doorway of his living room. 

"Did you find anything out?" Yaz asked, frowning when he just shook his head. "No. Did you?" She shook her head as well. 

Yaz began to move further into the room, the others following, and Grace joining them, to come to a stop in front of the couch, wondering if they should try and wake her. She just looked at her for a moment, her own brain fizzing at the proximity. Hesitantly, Yaz allowed herself to reach out, her powers connecting her to this woman properly for the first time, and the buzzing only got louder. 

Nothing happened for a moment, but eventually Yaz tried to push forward, just barely poking at the subconscious of the woman sprawled on the couch in front of them. She could feel the others gathered around her. 

Just milliseconds after the slightest poke from Yaz, the woman shot up, startling the group standing in front of her, causing Ryan to gasp and Graham to place his hand over his heart in surprise. 

She sat up, glancing over at them frantically and gripping at the skin just over her heart. "Who woke me up?" She asked, and Yaz looked away, slightly guilty but looking back only seconds later. Not long enough for the woman to notice her strange behavior, especially through the manic energy she was radiating. "I'm not ready. Still healing, still- Ungh. Can you smell that?" She rambled, scrambling to sit on the back of the couch, feet pressing into the cushions to Grace's dismay. "No, not smell, not hear... Feel... Can you feel-?" She continued, hand once again coming to press against her collar bone before her gaze snapped up and landed on Ryan. "Stay still Ryan." She warned him, coming to stand in front of him.

Ryan's gaze found Yaz, panic growing in his eyes. "What is it? What's the matter?" He asked, fear apparent in his voice and gaze as it shifted between the woman and Yaz. 

The blonde didn't answer at first, just moved his shirt aside where his collarbone was and pressed down. "Oh..." She started. "Show me your collarbones." She demanded, looking towards the rest of them, gaze locking on each of them as they did so, lingering just a bit on Yaz. Yaz sighed, the woman obviously hadn't forgotten her earlier slip up, and probably knew just what had woken her up from her nap. 

There was no time to ruminate on it however, as the group looking between each other in confusion, eyes catching on collarbones where small blinking red lights stared back at them, frightening and angry looking. "Oh, you've all got them." The woman whispered, looking between each of them. 

"So have you." Ryan pointed out, pointed toward the woman's own collar. "Yeah. I have." She said, looking down towards it briefly before walking around to stand behind them, causing them all to turn in order to face her. "Okay, really sorry, not good news. DNA bombs." She said, pausing as she looked at them shortly before looking away at their widening eyes, all of their hands going protectively to their collarbones. 

"Micro-implants that code to your DNA. On detonation they disrupt the foundation of your genetic code, melting your DNA. Fast, and nasty, and outlawed in every civilized galaxy." She moved around them again, coming to stand in front of the couch once more. 

Even without powers, Yaz would have been able to feel the fear saturating the room, could feel it from herself quite potently in that moment, but she tried to rein it in, listening to the conversation continuing around her. 

"How did we get them?" Ryan asked, voice increasing to a pitch much higher than the boy's normal deepness. 

"Yeah are they gonna go off?" Cut in Graham, fear present in his own voice and his hand firmly in Grace's, sharing what comfort they could give in the moment. 

"Quiet." The woman said, obviously trying to figure things out. "I'm trying to think, it's difficult. I'm not yet who I am." The group shared looks. All except Yaz, who tilted her head in slight understanding. Maybe that had something to do with the weird connection she could feel between her and the woman. 

"Brain and body rebooting, reformatting... Oh! Reformatting!" She exclaimed, the quick change in subject giving the rest of the group small bouts of whiplash. The woman walked towards the kitchen table where she had spotted Ryan's cell phone. "Can I borrow that?" She asked, although already walking towards it. 

"Yeah I guess so, but what for?" Ryan assented, curiosity prompting his answer and question. 

"That creature." She started, picking up his phone and starting to tap away at it quickly. "When you two came on board, it zapped us all with these. Simple plan to take out witnesses, very clever. Merciless but clever." The tapping continued until, with a slight gasp, she looked up, flashing the phone at them. "Ah! I reformatted your phone." 

"No, all my stuff's on there!" Ryan said, reaching out as if to take it from her. 

"Not anymore!" The woman sang before, with no warning for the four in front of her, placing it against her collarbone with a sharp zap. The shot of electricity was enough to propel her into the cupboard behind her, back slamming into it hard enough to move it, before she quickly fell to her knees, panting but otherwise unharmed. "Woah! That nap did me a world of good. Very comfy sofa." She said, looking at the phone and hurrying to stand, running past them and grabbing the coat that Yaz was just realizing was hanging off the back of one of the living room chairs.

Running towards the front door, she only paused once, looking back at them expectantly. "Come on, keep up." She said, already running out the door, leaving the four left inside to hesitantly follow behind her, Grace grabbing the keys to her own car while shaking her head. "Let's go, I guess." She said, and they all went out the door after the strange woman who fell into their lives. 

The car ride was silent at first, Yaz crammed in the backseat between Ryan and Graham while the blonde woman sat in the passenger seat, giving Grace whatever directions she was apparently able to decipher from Ryan's reformatted cell phone. 

"Next left." The woman says, holding the phone in front of her face with both hands. 

"Where are we driving to?" Asked Yaz.

"I reckon she's using my phone to track the origin signal for the DNA bombs." Ryan replies, earning himself impressed and shocked looks from all around. Graham chose that moment to cut in. "Again, when are they going to go off?" He asked, leaning towards the woman in the passenger seat.

"Don't know." 

"Well can't we just diffuse them?" 

"Not without the right equipment." She said, still looking at the phone in her hands and ignoring the shared looks between the other occupants of the car. "Left again." 

The rest of the ride was passed in relative silence, only the sound of the woman's voice giving directions breaking it. Yaz could feel her instincts acting up again, and began bouncing her leg up and down from where she sat between the two men, both of whom looked at her strangely. "You okay, Yaz?" Ryan asked, pointedly looking at her bouncing leg. 

"Yeah." She said. "Yeah, it just feels like something's off." That earned her confused looks from both boys as well as a short knowing glance from the blonde woman in the front seat before her eyes returned to the cell phone. Yaz sighed, nothing got past her she guessed. 

They finally turned into an alley, which definitely didn't help Yaz's feeling, and judging by the amount of trepidation she could feel from the others, she wasn't alone, and their hesitance only served to heighten her own. When the car came to a stop they were just outside of an old warehouse, and they all scrambled to get out of the car. 

The feeling was worse the closer they got to the warehouse and Yaz could feel her powers sizzling just below the surface of her skin, obviously wanting to protect. Yaz shook her hands out, taking a deep breath and reining it in. 

"We're close." The woman said, still holding the tracker in front of her face. The device began to beep, slowly at first, but then faster until the next thing they heard was an explosion. Flames exploded from the wall of the warehouse in front of them, leaving a hole large enough to fit a van through. They all watched as something began moving through the flames, stepping through the hole that was made and coming to stand on the outside, facing them. 

Yaz heard a collective gasp, and felt the group flinch back, trying to pull away from the creature standing in the distance. Yaz didn't know how to describe the thing that was staring them down. It was tall, and it obviously had some sort of armor on as well as a mask. 

"Bingo. I was expecting a tentacly thing." The woman said. "Oi! Don't you move!" She yelled at the creature, trying to seem menacing but not quite coming across as it. This was made obvious when the creature just stared at them a moment longer before turning and walking way. 

The woman made a noise, as if shocked at the creature's audacity, before taking off after it to the shock of the four stood slightly behind her. Ryan was the first one to follow after her. "Wait, is that another alien?" He asked, way too excited, followed by Grace also running after him. "Looks like it!" 

"Why is she running at another alien?" Graham asked, incredulous and waving his arms at them. Yaz shook her head, but wasn't one to be left behind, so she sprinted after them as well. "Don't just stand there! Come on!" She yelled at him, vaguely hearing him whisper. "Now they're all running at it." Before he ran after her as well. 

Yaz wasn't slow, she knew. She was quite fast despite her short stature, and was able to over take Ryan and Grace to catch up to the woman quickly, just reaching her as she stopped, out of breath and panting heavily, leaned over with her hands on her knees. Yaz was slightly out of breath too but was thankful for her police training keeping her in shape, as well as all the training her mother put her through, saying that she should always be in her best possible shape and that it would help her control her powers. 

The woman straightened up and groaned. "Ugh! Lost it! He's fast, and I'm slower, because of all this... fizzing inside." Yaz just looked at her with her best 'seriously?' expression on her face.

Ryan yelling after them snapped them out of their conversation. "In here!" He said, just in front of the doors to the warehouse, joined by Grace and Graham behind him. 

The warehouse was mostly empty, looking exactly how Yaz would expect an abandoned warehouse to look like. Cords lining the floor, chains folded around chairs and dim lights shining down on them. Yaz and the woman entered, looking around to see Graham and Grace leaning over something, and the closer the got she found she had to briefly close her eyes again before slowly opening, gazing sadly at the body looking back up at them. "We've got a man down over here." Graham said, looking over at them. 

"That thing must've killed him. I've never seen injuries like these." Grace said, reminding Yaz of her position as a nurse, and Yaz had to agree. It almost looked like a burn, but worse than any burn Yaz had ever seen. 

The woman leaned closer. "Not a weapon blast. More like an ice burn." She said, obviously as confused as the rest of them. 

"It broke his jaw open, too." Grace said, voice shaking slightly at the mutilation before her. 

"It looks like it took one of his teeth. What sort of creature kills someone and then stops to pull out a tooth?" 

"I'm sorry you all had to see this." She told them sadly, shaking her head, and if Yaz wasn't mistaken, she could feel no small amount of guilt rolling off of her and tilted her head. There was no reason for her to be guilty. It wasn't like she knew what was happening. 

"I'll find something to cover the body." Said Grace, already looking around the warehouse for something that would suffice. 

"Thank you, Grace." 

Graham was quick to hand over a tarp that he found laying on the ground a few feet away, and the body was covered quickly. Ryan wasn't noticed when he began walking further into the warehouse until he spoke. "This is it, this is the thing." He said, calling everyone's attention over to him. Yaz looked down at what he was pointing to, realizing he was right. Only... "It was all sealed up earlier. Looks like it's been broken." She said, looking at how it was cracked open. 

"Or it's done what it came here for." The woman replied, already studying the object. She circled it slowly, eyes taking in whatever they could.

"Some sort of transport chamber. Presumably for that thing we just saw in the alley. But, why here? Why tonight?" She questioned, her thoughts racing so quickly Yaz could hear them speed up. Her focus was pulled to other things however, as she felt a rush of guilt coming from her left. Her gaze shifted to Ryan, who was trying hard to not look at them. 

"Actually, that might have been me." He said, still not meeting anyone's eyes. 

The woman's gaze drilled into him, and Yaz could tell he was uncomfortable with it. "Why? What did you do?"

Ryan's eyes shifted to Grace and Graham, before moving away again. 

"When I went to get my bike, there was this line in the air. And then it moved and there were shapes."

"And?" The woman prompted, a little impatiently.

"And I touched one." Ryan said, trying to seem unapologetic although Yaz could still feel the guilt and she sighed. 

"Ryan!" Grace scolded.

"What?" He said, defensive. "You all would've done the same." 

"I wouldn't!"

"I would've." The woman said, and Yaz could absolutely believe her. The blonde was too curious not to push random buttons in the air. 

"Alright, the shapes disappeared. And a few seconds later, that appeared." He finished, gesturing at the broken object in front of them. "What have I done?" 

The woman shrugged. "Hard to say, really." The woman said, hand coming up to cover her mouth in thought. 

"I suppose you'll be blaming this on the dyspraxia as well? Can't ride a bike, started an alien invasion!" Everybody's heads shot in Graham's direction, shock on their features at the outburst. "Graham!" Chided Grace, surprised at the man's anger. 

"What?" 

"Enough, love!"

"Alright," Ryan cut in. "I made a mistake. But why did that guy move this thing from the peaks to here? And how did he even know it was there?" 

"Good questions." The blonde said, fidgeting from the awkward tension in the room. 

Yaz sighed, turning to Ryan to save him from the heavy looks. "C'mon. Let's take a look around here. See what we can find." She said, tilting her head away from the rest of the group and walking away, knowing he would follow behind. 

They passed the rest of the group, walking away as they heard the muffled conversation between them. There was a small room off to the side that Yaz led them through, picking up a small flashlight she found on the table as they walked in and turning it on. 

The small beam of light showed them to be storage of some sort, shelving scattered throughout the room, and a small opening that seemed to lead off into another smaller room. 

"This isn't your fault, all this." She said, still scanning the shelves. 

"Yeah, it basically is." He replied from his spot behind her, guilt obvious in his voice. 

"You couldn't have known this would happen."

"Maybe tell Graham that."

She looked towards him knowingly. "He knows, really." She stopped for a moment. "Do you really believe she's an alien?" She asked, gaze shifting towards the doorway and leaving him certain about who she was talking about. Not that it was every in question. 

His gaze followed hers. "Yeah I think I do." He scoffed. "Is that mad?" 

"No. I think I do too." 

He smiled, turning away. "Let's look in there." He said, gesturing towards the entrance to the next room. 

As they walked through the door the first thing they noticed was the computer monitor placed on a desk in the corner and they shared a look. The monitor turned on quickly, the screen bright in the otherwise dark room. The desktop was normal, except for a single icon at the center of the screen, a video file, isolated and disorganized from those on the left side. This alone wouldn't have been enough cause for concern, but it was the name of the file that made them take pause. 

'IF I DIE, CLICK HERE'

Ryan looked back at her, as if asking for permission to click on it. "Not yet. We should get the others." She said, and he nodded in agreement, running out of the room to collect the others, leaving her to sit down in the desk chair to wait. 

She could hear his muffled voice telling them they'd found something, as well as the following foot steps as they all ran in, gathering around Yaz in front of the computer screen. Yaz saw the woman briefly before turning back to the computer, but not before noticing the strange device in her hands. The shape of a screwdriver with a strange glow at the end coming from one of the crystals Yaz remembered seeing in the pod. It was shoved in a coat pocket before Yaz could get a better look though.

She pushed play, the first thing she noticed being that the man on the screen was the same one they'd found when they entered the warehouse. The one murdered by that creature. The man spoke about how he had seen the creature before, how his sister was stolen on that night, and he was planning on confronting the creature about it. They were silent as they listened to the speech, and Yaz could feel everyone move a little closer to her, the blonde coming to a stop just behind the chair, hand coming to rest on the back.

"He knew what he was doing might kill him." Ryan said, stating what they had learned from the video, leaving all of them to turn to the blonde woman. She leaned forward, snatching up a photo that was resting on the desk beside the monitor and holding it up. Yaz was craning her neck to look at her as she spoke. "She was his family." She said by way of explanation for the man's behavior, and Yaz understood. She would do anything for her own family, even if it meant dying. 

"Come on." The woman said, guiding them back into the room that housed the transport pod and pulling out the device Yaz saw her put in her coat pocket. It let out a noise as she aimed it at the pod and pressed a button on the side, causing the glow emanating from the tip to brighten. She made a slow circle around it, pulling the device back every few seconds to look at it, as if reading something from it. 

"Did you just make that?" Ryan asked, watching the woman curiously as she worked.

"Sonic screwdriver. Well, I say screwdriver, but it's a bit more multipurpose than that. Scanner, diagnostics, tin opener. More of a... sonic Swiss-army knife. Only, without the knife. Only idiots carry knives." She said, scrunching her nose slightly. 

"What are you doing with it?" 

"Mapping the distance this object has traveled. Looks like it came from over five-thousand galaxies away." She answered, looking at the readings.

Yaz narrowed her eyes. "How can you tell?" 

"That bit, there." She said, pointing towards the crystals glowing much like the one in her hand. "Recall circuitry, designed for a return journey."

"So," Graham started. "Whatever killed that bloke will have to come back here?" 

"Question is, why did it leave? What's it looking for?" Yaz could tell her agitation was growing, and so could Grace apparently. "What's your best guess, love." She asked gently.

"Two aliens, one city, one night? Best guess? Two species at war, using Earth as a battle ground." The blonde said, hurrying past them to dig through something behind them.

"Are you joking?" Yaz asked, turning her body to see the woman picking things out of a pile of what looked to Yaz like rubbish. 

"Nope. Sorry." She apologized, not really sounding sorry at all. Yaz rolled her eyes, still watching her scramble to shove whatever she picked out into a small bag and setting it down to go pack to the junk pile.

Their eyes followed her. "So you're saying those two aliens are looking for each other, spoiling for a scrap?" Graham said.

"Bit more than a scrap."

"So what do we do?" Yaz asked, instincts racking up again. 

"Stop them meeting, capture them, and send them home, away from each other and away from Earth." The blonde answered although still not looking at them. Yaz heard Ryan sigh. "And how do we do that?"

"Well give me a minute, I'm working on it." 

"Not to sound like a stuck record," Graham started, "But can I just ask about these DNA bombs? Like how long have we got left?" 

The woman finally looked up at them, apparently tired of the constant stream of questions, and Yaz really couldn't blame her. 

"Enough questions. You lot, you love to chat, I get it. Lots to do, I'm working on it all. And I haven't forgotten about your collarbones, Graham. Give me nine minutes, a bit of quiet, and I'll be ready to roll. Scout's honor." 

She was cut off by Graham's phone which caught everyone's attention, except for the blonde who had turned back to her task still unknown to the others. 

"Hello?"

"..."

"Yeah."

"..."

"No, no mate! That's exactly the sort of thing!" 

* * *

They were guided to a building after the woman used her sonic device to remove the DNA bombs from each of them, quickly and efficiently. As they came upon it there were obvious flashes coming from the top and the blonde woman was quick to climb to the top, the rest of them following behind up a narrow set of stairs that would lead to the top. Towards the ball of electricity that tried to kill them, naturally.

She had cables wrapped around her shoulders and Yaz had been given a small power washer to carry up, since they knew Ryan would've had a hard time carrying it and walking up the steep flight of stairs. As soon as they all reached the top the woman spoke, tauntingly. "Hi, us again. Now!" She said, hurrying to connect one end of the cables to the satellite they knew would be there, and the other to the power washing nozzle Yaz had handed to Grace. 

Everything happened fast. The electricity flowed through the water, and Grace aimed it at the coil that was still flashing in front of them. It didn't take long for the flashing to stop, and the collection of wires and coils slumped motionless on the wet concrete in front of them. 

"Get in! It actually worked!" Said Ryan, surprise clear in his voice.

"Of course it worked! I'm not an amateur." The woman replied, expression one of such extreme offence that Yaz had to laugh, watching as she leaned down to scan the creature. 

"Overloaded its circuits, stunned it for a bit. Not sure how long though. Best be quick, and thank you to Kevin the bus driver for location intel." 

"See? Always ask a bus driver." Graham said, looking over at Ryan and Grace in a way that implied the repetition of that particular statement. Yaz knew she was right when Ryan just sighed. 

"Half organic, half machine, starts to make sense now." The blonde pulled the sonic back to look at the readings, frowning at what she saw. "Wait, it's a gathering coil. No, _dozens_ of gathering coils. These tentacly things, they're creatures which gather information. They've been lashed together and augmented into one super creature. But why? What data are they gathering?"

The group watches as she comes to stand again, beginning to pace in front of them. "Unless..."

"So that's an alien species?" Yaz asked, wanting to know more about the creature laying on the ground in front of them. 

"Not really. More of a semi species. Weaponized biotech."

"You said there are two aliens in a battle."

"You're right, I did, but now I think I'm wrong and I'm trying to catch up to what that might mean." She paused while the others shared confused looks.

"If I can access the data it's gathered..." 

She leaned down again, scanning once more, although seemingly for something different than the first time. They were all watching when the creature began to spark, each of them flinching back but leaning in once more when an image appeared in front of them. A hologram, of the man from the train, Yaz could remember. 

"That's Carl from the train!" Graham pointed out.

"Carl's the data." The woman said. "That's what it was gathering on the train!"

"What would the alien want with him?" He asked, but not unkindly.

"I don't know. But I have an idea." She said, and Yaz watched as she inserted the DNA bombs into the creature. 

"What are you doing?" Yaz asked.

"Inserting the DNA bombs into this gathering coil, so when whatever that creature is comes back for the information in it, it'll hopefully transfer the bombs as well. Better it doesn't have any leverage over us."

They were so caught up in the conversation that none of them noticed the footsteps behind them, or the harsh breathing until a harsh voice cut through the night. 

"Which one of you should I kill first?" 

They were all quick to turn around before freezing, fear spiking through all of them when they realized the voice belonged to the creature they saw at the warehouse, hoping it didn't hear their conversation. The blonde woman unfroze first. "I vote none of us. Get behind me." She added, bringing an arm out to push Yaz behind her, as if her lanky body could protect them from the frightening creature in front of them. 

The creature took a step closer, but stopped when the woman raised her hand out in a forceful gesture. "Stop right there. Come any further and we'll blast whatever that thing is." She said, pointing at the coil still on the ground behind her. 

"You're interfering in things you don't understand." The voice caused shivers to run through the group, and Yaz could feel her powers rush to the surface once more, just barely holding back. Her instincts were really taking a beating that night. 

"Yeah, well, we all need a hobby."

"You're not human. Who are you?" The creature tilted his head, obviously not sure what to make of the blonde woman standing in front of him, using her own body to try and protect her friends. 

"Me? I'm..." 

There was a pause, and everyone was pulled into the suspense, expecting to finally learn the name of the woman they'd been following the entire night. The alien that dragged them around the entirety of Sheffield. But, it was all for nothing, as the blonde just groaned.

"Ugh! It's gone again! I had it a minute ago that's so annoying!" She ran her hand down her face, sighing. "Same question, back at you. No, in fact, to before that, because it's really bugging me. No, actually, not bugging me. Offending me!"

Yaz sighed behind her, prompting her to get on with it. "Right. Why the teeth? Bad enough you kill, why take a tooth from your victim?" 

The creature began to reach up, a mechanical creaking noise the only sound they could hear besides the wind whistling around them. If possible, the atmosphere got more charged as a hand reached up to take hold of the mask covering the creature's face, slowly moving it up until his face was revealed.

Yaz heard Grace's quiet gasp from her right, and had to work hard to contain her own. She knew her eyes were widened and her facial expression wasn't doing much to conceal her fear, but she didn't look away. Kept gazing at the creature. The creature, who's face was covered in dozens of teeth, placed randomly around his features. He let out what Yaz could only describe as a snarl.

"A Stenza warrior always wears his conquests. You may tell your children you were once privileged to encounter Tzim Shaw of the Stenza." His voice rang out, and the tension rose, only broken when the blonde spoke once more, making the four behind her cringe at her brashness.

"...Tim Shaw?'

The creature stared at her, blinked. 

"Tzim Shaw."

"Tim Shaw?" 

"Tzim Shaw!" 

She jumped at the last one, as did the others, not expecting the raise in volume or the shift in tone. 

"Soon to be leader of the Stenza race. Conquerors of the nine systems."

"When you say soon to be, what are you now? The office junior?" Yaz nearly smacked her own face. This woman was purposely riling the creature up, and Yaz had no idea why. 

"Hey, well don't wind him up!" Graham whined, unknowingly vocalizing Yaz's own thoughts. Not surprisingly, he was ignored, the creature continuing on with his speech. 

"Tonight is my challenge. Trace and obtain the selected human trophy."

It was then that Yaz realized what was going on, that it was some sort of chase, and judging by the woman's facial expressions, so did she. "It's a hunt. You're on a hunt." She said, having coming to the same conclusion as Yaz. 

"Well, done." The creature growled. "Your tiny mind must be burning with such effort." 

The woman scoffed, turning towards them with an offended expression. "Did he just say I have a small mind?" 

"The challenge is simple." The creature continued, calling the woman's attention back to him. "Our leaders randomly designate a selected human, I'm sent here, alone. No weapons, no assistance. I must locate and obtain the trophy and return home. If I do this, I ascend to leader." 

They all listened to what was said, but something in particular stuck out to Yaz. "So, what's that, then?" Yaz asked, gesturing towards the coil still on the ground, false bravery coming through in her voice. The fear she felt ended up being worth it though, as the woman's face lit up, looking back at her with pride and Yaz had to smile. Especially when she got a whispered "well done," from Ryan. 

"Yes! You said the rules were no weapons, and no assistance. You're not supposed to have that." She said, a smirk on her own face as something else clicked in her head. "How did you kill him? What caused the ice burns?"

The creature paused, obviously having been caught out. "We Stenza live at temperatures far below this planet. Once touch of my cold skin will kill a human."

"So this super powered gathering coil right here, you're not meant to have it are you?"

The Stenza growled at having been called out. "The creature is irrelevant."

"I don't think it is. I think you smuggled it ahead of you. I think it located the 'randomly designated human' for you. I think you broke the rules! Some leader you're going to make. Tzim Shaw is a big, blue cheat." 

They all saw it coming, what with the blonde purposely riling him up, it was no surprise when he raised his hand to them threateningly, flashing bright blue. It didn't stop them from flinching, or moving away from where they still surrounded the coil. 

"Alright, fine. Have it." She said, guiding them away from it.

They watched Tzim Shaw walk over to the coils, gloved hand still raised at them threateningly, and lean over it, looking down on it. They watched him move his hand to instead have it hover just above the creature, his other hand coming up to join it. It almost looked like waves were being absorbed by him, starting at his hands and flowing through his body. 

"What's it doing?" Ryan asked.

The woman answered. "Total transference."

The Stenza straightened up, gaze landing on them once more. 

"Now, if you're finished, let's get one thing clear. You're not taking any human from Earth tonight. Leave now, or we're going to stop you." The blonde said menacingly, but to no avail. Tzim Shaw just smiled a gruesome, nasty smile, and said, "Good luck," before slamming a hand against his chest, and with a flash of bright light, causing them all to cover their eyes, Tzim Shaw was gone along with the gathering coil. As if they had never been there at all.

"No! Short range teleport. Double cheat!" 

"Where have they gone?" Asked Ryan, eyes wide. 

"To hunt. Let's go, we need to find out where Carl works."

"Actually," Yaz said, everyone's attention turning to her. "I know that. He works at a crane company. It's just a few minutes away, actually."

The rest of the group sighed, with varying degrees of excitement. Ryan's sigh was the loudest. "Of course he does." 

They hurried to scramble back down the stairs, all of them cramming back into Grace's car to head towards where they knew the cranes to be. The drive was short and quiet, all of them anxious about what was to come, for various reasons. 

Ryan was nervous at the idea of climbing up one of the cranes, knowing that he's has issues walking on flat ground. Graham was worried about Grace, and vice versa, although Grace was also worried about Ryan being able to take care of himself.

Yaz herself could feel the anxiety from the others mixing with her own, adding to it and making it worse than it would normally be. She was worried about how everything was going to play out, hoping she would be able to keep her powers to herself. She doesn't know anybody there enough to know whether or not they'd be trustworthy in keeping her secret. If they'd still look at her the same. 

They pulled up the drive towards the grounds, stopping just outside the fence and scrambling out, still hauling all their supplies over their shoulders. The hole in the fence ahead of them was large and obvious, enough for all of them to fit through. They had only just entered the grounds when they came upon something lying in the dirt. Another body, burnt in the same way the man in the warehouse had been. The blonde woman sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. Yaz felt another rush of guilt flow through her, and once again she knew it to not be her own.

Her eyes met the woman's and she gave her a sad, but understanding smile, much to the blonde's surprise. Her head tilted slightly, and Yaz knew she was still trying to figure her out, but she just shook her head subtly and tilted it towards the cranes in front of them, trying to tell her they had other things to attend to. She received a sigh and a nod, before they continued on their mission. 

Just then, a voice broke through the quiet, coming through the radio lying on the ground next to the man's body. 

" _I need help, somebody's on my crane!"_

"Carl's a crane operator. He would be, wouldn't he?" The woman sighed. 

"Hey!" Ryan's voice cut through. "It's up there!" He said, pointing off to one of the cranes which, sure enough, had Tzim Shaw climbing up the side of it.

"And that creature's guarding the bottom of it." Graham added, all of them watching the coil wrapped around the crane, flashing with white light. 

"Grace, Graham, I need you to take this equipment and get everybody off this site. Don't care how, use your initiative. Do not come back in. Understand?" The blonde said, gesturing for the other two to drop whatever supplies they had next to Grace and Graham, the two of them nodding in understanding.

"Ryan? Yaz?" The woman started, gaining their attention. "How are you with machinery? And heights." 

Ryan closed his eyes, breathing a deep sigh of acceptance. Yaz just patted him on the shoulder, a small show of comfort to try and make up for how uncomfortable he would be shortly. 

They split up, Grace and Graham going off to do their job while Ryan and Yaz followed the blonde, jogging after her until they came to a stop at the bottom of the crane adjacent to Carl's. The woman already started climbing, talking at she did.

"That tentacly thing is guarding Carl's crane. So, we go up this one." She said, pulling herself up the ladder. But Yaz took pause. "What do we do when we get up there?" She asked, bringing her hands up to rest on the ladder in front of her but not climbing up just yet. 

"Don't worry, I've got a plan." The woman says confidently, pausing for just a second before resuming her climb. 

Yaz didn't believe her for a second, raising her eyebrow and allowing her disbelief to come through her tone. "...Really?"

The blonde paused again, hesitating for just a second. "Well... I will have when we get to the top."

That sounded more viable to Yaz, who just shared a look with Ryan and shook her head before beginning her own climb up, working to catch up with the woman already a few yards above her. She was nearly there when she looked back for Ryan just to see that he hadn't yet left the ground. "Are you alright with this?" She asked, catching his eyes. "Because if it's a problem you don't have to do it."

Ryan sighed, shaking his head. "I do. I can do this." He said, earning himself a proud smile from Yaz before she turned back to the task at hand, even further behind than she was before. It was a long climb that made Yaz glad that she wasn't afraid of heights. She was just below the woman when she stopped, pausing to yell across the cranes to Carl's. 

"Oi! Carl, from the train! Up and over! Up, and over!" She yelled, waving her arms in wide gestures, hoping he'd get the picture. They resumed their climb, glad to see Carl beginning to climb out of his own crane, although they could see the fear on his face clear across the distance. 

Yaz was focusing hard on keeping her own feet steady, but she was tuned in enough to her surroundings to hear a slip, and a muffled, "oh!" She whipped her head around, eyes catching on Ryan and seeing him gripping the ladder with white knuckles, almost no space between it and his body. "Ryan!" She yelled. "Okay?"

He just nodded, too out of breath to speak, and continued climbing up, slower than before. Yaz took another second before she looked away, making sure that Ryan really was okay. They climbed the rest of the way in silence, the only noises being the creaking of the cranes around them as well as each others harsh breathing. It was better when the reached the top, but still much to high for Yaz's liking, not that she'd admit it to anyone. Just stood tall and brave, ready for anything. 

"So, what's the plan? You said you'd have a plan." She asked, feeling Ryan coming to stand behind her and hearing his whispered "way too high," after he looked down below. 

"Nearly. Nearly, nearly." The woman repeated before finally snapping. "Got one. I climb out onto the arm of this crane, you swing the arm round next to Carl's crane." 

The two just stared at her. "Oh, no, you're kidding." Ryan said, although at that point Yaz knew she wasn't kidding. That didn't keep the skepticism off her face however. 

"Carl steps across, you swing the arm away, I get him back in here. Then all back down for a cuppa and a fried egg sandwich. Really craving a fried egg sandwich. Simple, no?" 

"Not really!" Yaz said, doubt clear on her face. 

"Alright! It's a work in progress, but so is life." Yaz rolled her eyes. "It'll be fine. Oh! I got these downstairs. One must work. You can figure out how to operate a crane, can't you?" She asked, slamming a set of keys in Yaz's hands. "Go!" She yelled as if breaking a team meeting, sprinting off towards the arm of the crane, leaving Yaz and Ryan standing by themselves. 

Yaz looked up at Ryan to see him looking as doubtful as she felt. There gazes met and there was a shared moment of confusion, but there were things to be done. Cranes to be operated, so Yaz just shrugged and hurried to the ladder leading to the control tower, leaving Ryan to follow behind her. 

When they climbed inside, Yaz sat directly in the control seat, pulling out the set of keys that had been handed to her. It was just then she realized just how many keys she had been handed. At least two dozen, for sure, so she set to work quickly. Some how, she managed to go through every single key without picking the one that would start the crane, not quite believing her luck until the reached the last one, sticking it in the ignition and turning it. Sure enough, the crane rumbled to life, leaving her to roll her eyes, completely unsurprised at her luck. 

Regardless, the crane was started, and Ryan had been using her phone to look for crane instructions for the past couple minutes. He obviously found something, as he clicked and moved it so she could see it too. And, after a few seconds of studying the photos, Yaz reached for the lever indicated and pushed it gently to the right. The crane arm began to move slowly towards Carl's own crane, and they could see the blonde woman hanging on to the end of theirs.

Just before the cranes could line up however, there was a sudden surge of electricity, sparks flying from the control panel in front of them and, after briefly trying the lever once more, powering down the crane completely, leaving them only able to watch as the blonde looked back at them in confusion. They just shrugged, showing their own confusion in the moment. 

Carl had almost reached the end of his crane, but he was still slow moving, and the blonde was working on convincing him to jump across, knowing they had no other options at that point. The two up in the crane could see Tzim Shaw coming to stand on the crane arm as well, starting to walk towards the crane operator, much quicker than the man himself had. 

They watched Carl step up on the railing, obviously still trying to get his courage up. They could hear the blonde woman counting him down from three, and when she reached one, two things happened. Carl gathered his courage and jumped, hands outstretched, arms and legs flailing. Then, just before he could get any real distance, he was grabbed by the back of his vest, leaving him hanging over the edge of the crane. Yaz cringed, thinking about how frightening that would be to anyone, let alone someone as... sheltered as Carl.

Tzim Shaw dragged him back over the railing, pulling him on the ground behind him like he was a suit case of some kind. Yaz and Ryan watched the blonde begin backing up, stopping when she was as far back as she could be. "If you wan't something doing..." They heard, muffled through the glass of the crane window, followed by the metal clank of shoes against metal as they watched her sprint towards the edge, each of them realizing what she was planning the second she started running.

"Oh, my God." Yaz heard come out of both hers and Ryan's mouths simultaneously, and there was nothing left to say, really. The woman's feet left the metal flooring, arms reaching in front of her and, for one horrible second, Yaz thought she wasn't going to make it, a flash of fear rushing through her before it was covered by relief when she saw she was able to just hang on to the railing of the other crane and, in a show of incredible upper body strength, fluidly pull herself up to stand on her feet once more, tall and proud. 

"Oi! Tim Shaw!" She yelled, causing the creature to stop, slowly turning to face her and releasing his grip on the human dragging behind him. His hand came up to his mask, lifting it up and letting out a hiss as the pressure was released, plumes of fog emanating from his skin. 

"Oh!" Comes Carl's panicked voice. "He's got a face of teeth?"

"I know. I've got this." The blonde said in what was probably supposed to be a comforting tone, but did nothing to calm the man curled up on the ground. She paid this no mind as she turned her attention back to the creature standing behind him. "Let him go. Or I destroy this." She said, digging through her coat pockets for a moment, mumbling under her breath just long enough for it to turn awkward before she pulled out what she was looking for.

The recall gem that Yaz remembered seeing in the pod back in the warehouse sat in the woman's hand, fingers gripping it tight enough Yaz could see the veins shifting. "This. The recall from the pod you traveled in? I took it out. Without this, you can't get home." She said confidently, only moving when Tzim Shaw took a threatening step towards her, coming to stand closer to the railing and holding the recall instead over empty air. "Ah, ah. If I fall, this falls with me. Then you're stuck." She said, continuing to hold the gem over the side, prepared to drop it if necessary. 

"What do you do with them, your human trophies?" 

"They're held in stasis. In our trophy chambers, on the cusp between life and death." 

"Left to rot?" She says, disgust clear in her voice. "How completely obscene."

"They're not important."

"If I don't stop you your people will keep doing this."

"Give me the circuit, or I detonate the bombs I placed in your friends." Tzim Shaw threatened, hand coming up to activate the detonator placed at his neck.

The blonde sighed. "More weapons. Did your pet put one in Carl too?" 

"There was no need. He was tagged. He is the trophy."

"I thought as much. Right, you detonate the bombs, I'll destroy the recall. So what are we going to do?" Yaz could tell she was confident. Radiating smooth assurance that she knew what she was doing while she was quite literally facing down danger, and while it was staring back.

"Poor Tzim Shaw, the wannabe leader that has to cheat because he knows he's unworthy. See, that's why I know you won't detonate. Although, you could prove me wrong. Cuz, we're all capable of the most incredible change. We can evolve, while still staying true to who we are. We can honor who we've been, and choose who we want to be next. Now's your chance. How about it?" 

Yaz almost thought he was going to listen to her. She knew she would if she had been on the receiving end of that speed. He tilted his head at the strange woman standing tall and proud in front of him. "Who are you?" He asked, awe clear even in his gravely voice.

The blonde chuckled. "I'm glad you asked that again. Bit of adrenaline, dash of outrage, and a hint of panic knitted by brain back together. I know exactly who I am." She took a step forward, the moonlight reflecting off her golden hair looking more like a halo. 

"I'm the Doctor. Sorting out fair play throughout the universe." Yaz let out a deep breath. The name was odd, but for some reason she couldn't see the woman being called anything else. It was odd, but also extraordinary. The Doctor. The woman who fell to Earth and saved them all.

"Now please, get off this planet while you still have a choice." 

Tzim Shaw stepped towards her, the Doctor, and Yaz thought he was going to take her words to heart and leave before anyone got hurt. But, at the last minute, his hand reached up to the detonator at his neck and pressed it quickly. "I choose to win." 

It took a few seconds for anything to happen, but once it did it was obvious to anyone watching. First was the screaming. A high pitched scream nobody could ever see coming from the monstrous creature stood in front of them. Then, was his skin. It almost looked like it was melting, beginning to drip down his body and some of it coming to land on the grates at his feet. 

"Sorry, I removed those nasty little things from my friends." The Doctor said, pulling her sonic out of her pocket to show him. "Swiss-army sonic. Now with added Sheffield steel. And I implanted them back in your creature. Transference wasn't just data, it was physical. You got everything transferred to you, including five tiny bombs. You had a choice, you did this to yourself. Go home." She chucked the recall hard at his chest, and he caught it, slamming it against his suit and pressing it.

And, with a flash of light, he was gone. Hopefully this time for good. 

Yaz breathed out a sigh of relief, glad for everything to be over. Her relief was short lived, however, as she suddenly felt grief rip through her. Grief not her own, and definitely not that of Ryan of the Doctor. That just left... _Grace._

She just barely held in her gasp, gripping Ryan by his sleeve and pulling him to follow her, careful not to give anything away when he still needed to climb down the ladder. He needed to focus. She let him go first, making sure to keep an eye on him as she climbed down slightly slower. Guilt slammed through her, and this time she knew it to be her own. 

When she reached the bottom, Ryan was already running off to find his nan, and Yaz closed her eyes against the sudden rush of emotion she felt flow through her. Grief and sadness not her own almost overwhelmed her as she walked over to where Grace was, lying on the ground and motionless. The Doctor joined them and looked down as well, her face crumpling at the sight of Graham and Ryan kneeling over the woman, sobs wracking through both of them. 

Yaz was expecting it this time, the rush of guilt coming from the woman beside her, was ready for it when the Doctor's eyes met hers after feeling her gaze. She looked at her, questioning if she could feel it. Feel the guilt. Yaz nodded, looking down at her feet as she felt a fresh wave rush through her, mixing with that of the woman beside her as well as the two men kneeling in front of her. 

Yaz came to stand by her, lightly gripping her elbow and pulling her away from the others slightly, partly to give them their privacy, but mostly because she had to talk to her. The Doctor said nothing as she was pulled along, just locking her gaze with Yaz's as soon as they had stopped moving, head tilting in question.

"I could have stopped it." Yaz said, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. Her statement only magnified the Doctor's confusion, the woman obviously trying to figure out what she could have meant before giving up and just asking. "What- What do you-?" 

Yaz interrupted. "I- I just, I could have stopped it."

"Yaz." The Doctor said. "What's going on with you?" 

She almost answered her. Almost took a deep breath and spilled everything to this woman she just met that night. This woman who strangely and unironically calls herself the Doctor. But, she stopped herself. Remembered her mom and her words warning her against telling anyone anything. Remembered that there are people who would try to take her, and test on her and her powers. She just shook her head, although still uncertain. "I can't tell you. I can't tell people, but I should have been able to do something."

The Doctor just looked at her with a concern-filled gaze. Yaz knew her thoughts were racing with possibilities about what she possibly could have meant, but she just couldn't tell her. Not yet. Although... "Can I ask questions?" The Doctor asked. "Like, you don't have to answer them, but maybe it'll be easier than you saying anything. And, if it helps, I wouldn't let anything hurt you, and I wouldn't tell anyone. Not if you didn't want me to." 

Yaz just looked at her, trying to get a read on this strange woman without getting into her head, because she knew the Doctor would feel it, like she felt her. She was being truthful, Yaz could tell that much just through her aura, and so she thought, just maybe, she could answer whatever this woman wanted to ask. For some strange reason, she trusts her. So, slowly, uncertainly, Yaz nods her head, and the Doctor's eyes brighten slightly in excitement. 

"Excellent. First, are you a telepath?" She got right into it, and Yaz let out a quick exhale and small smile forming on her face at the obviously planned question. That was an easy one, though, as Yaz was sure the Doctor already knew. She nodded. "Yes. And you are too, aren't you?" She asked, turning the question back on the Doctor. 

The blonde nodded, a small smile on her face as well. "Yup. Although, slightly different than yours. I'm a touch telepath, you see?" 

That definitely made more sense to Yaz. It explained the train. "Is that what happened when you brushed past me on the train?" She asked, remembering the short connection she'd felt with the woman without really opening one. 

The Doctor grimaced slightly. "Yeah, sorry about that. Usually better at controlling it." 

Yaz laughed. "It's okay, were you able to read anything off me?" 

The blonde looked at her strangely, thinking back to the brief moment of contact on the train. "No, actually. That's impressive, really." The Doctor started to smile, and Yaz couldn't help smiling back, already feeling more at ease and even willing to answer more questions. This woman felt safe to her and, although she was strange, Yaz liked it. It was like their kinds of strange lined up.

"Did you want to ask anything else?" Yaz asked.

The Doctor thought for a moment. "So, can you do other things, then? I'm assuming so, given your outburst a few minutes ago? And the guilt? Why are you guilty, Yaz?" She asked the last part gently, no judgement whatsoever and Yaz took a deep breath. 

"Yeah I can do other things. As for the guilt, I just feel like I could have done more to save Grace," She looked back at the two boys still gathered around her on the ground, and felt the guilt wash over her once more. "Like if I had done something she wouldn't be dead."

The Doctor looked at her sadly. "Yaz, you can't always save everyone. And judging by how hesitant you were to tell me about this, I'm assuming there's a reason you don't want anyone to know about it. You need to remember, people make their own choices. Grace made her choice, and unfortunately it didn't end well. But that is not on you." 

When Yaz looked back at her, she had tears threatening to fall from her eyes, and she quickly wiped them, not wanting to cry. She let out a watery chuckle, much to the confusion of the blonde woman in front of her. "You should take your own advice." She said, noticing when she tensed up. 

"What do you mean?" 

Yaz smiled gently. "I could feel it. I'm not just a telepath, I'm also an empath."

The Doctor looked surprised, and a little impressed. "So you just feel others emotions all the time? That's got to be overwhelming." 

"It can be." Said Yaz. "But I've learned to control it. Grief is a strong emotion though, and it's easy to feel."

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said, knowing that Yaz had likely been able to feel those emotions from her all night. Yaz just shrugged. "It's alright." 

The blonde just sighed and opened her mouth to ask another question. But, before she could she was cut off. Ryan and Graham had joined them again, although they were obviously in pain. 

"You two should leave." Graham said. "We're going to call the police and report this and we don't want you two to be questioned, and we're going to organize a funeral to take place within the next few days. We'd really like it if you two would come." 

Yaz and the Doctor shared a sad look, both nodding. "Of course, Graham." Yaz said, reaching out to take his hand with a gentle squeeze. She felt him squeeze back and smiled, looked towards Ryan and took his hand as well. It was all the comfort Yaz could give, as she knew nothing would quite be enough.

"Alright." Graham said, prompting Yaz to let go of both of them. "Doctor, you can crash on our couch tonight. Yaz, you can stay as well if you want. We'll see you later." Yaz nodded, looking towards the Doctor and gesturing for her to follow her. 

It had been a long night. It was time to rest and face everything else later.

* * *

The funeral was a beautiful service, Graham gave a lovely speech that Yaz knew Grace would have loved. She didn't know Grace well, but she knew she would always be remembered by everyone in the church. She knew she could never forget about the brave woman that always put others before herself, and did whatever she could to help. 

The four of them met up afterwards, all gathering outside of Graham and Grace's house just within the walkway up to the door. Yaz was sat on the stone railing with the other three standing around her, leaning against the walls on either side. 

"Have you got family?" Yaz asked, looking towards the Doctor. She turned to face her briefly before turning away again, her face shifting in an odd way. Yaz felt a small surge of grief before the woman spoke. "No. Lost them a long time ago." She said, leaning heavily against the stone at her back. 

"How'd you cope with that?" Ryan asked, desperate for an answer in a way that made Yaz sad. 

"I carry them with me. What they would've thought, and said, and done. Make them a part of who I am. So even though they're gone from the world, they're never gone from me."

Graham let out a shaky breath. "That's something Grace would've said." Ryan nodded along in agreement, knowing that was absolutely true, and having been on the receiving end of many of those inspiring speeches before. 

"So everything we've seen, everything we've done, is that normal for you?" Yaz asked, gazing at the woman in front of her. 

"I'm just a traveler. Sometimes I see things need fixing, and I do what I can." She started, shrugging her shoulders. "Although now, I'm a traveler without a ship. I've stayed too long, I should get back to finding my TARDIS." 

"Doctor!" The woman paused in her leaving, turning back to face Yaz with a raised eyebrow. "Can I just say? You really need to get out of those close." She said, gesturing to the clothes in question that hung much too loose on the blonde's small frame and prompting chuckles from the two men. She looked down, as if just remembering that her closed didn't quite fit her. "Right, yeah." Her face scrunched up. "Been a long time since I bought women's clothes." She said, implying that she was going to be needing help. 

Yaz just laughed, hopping down from her spot and coming to grab the woman's hand. "Come on, I'll help. Are you two coming?" She turned to Ryan and Graham. 

Graham shook his head, but patted Ryan on the shoulder. "Ryan why don't you go? I'm going to take a look around the house." He said, and everyone's smile turned sad, knowing the real reason he wanted to stay. Ryan just nodded, and they all turned to walk towards Yaz's car.

* * *

"Really? That's what you're going with?" 

"Yup! Got any cash? Empty pockets." 

Yaz was shocked to say the least, the Doctor's new outfit not exactly conventional, but in some odd way, it worked for her. The brown boots complete with visible long, fluffy socks were absolutely compatible with the pair of trousers that barely went down to mid shin. She, for some reason, decided on layering her shirts, with a white, long-sleeved undershirt with a stretched dark blue shirt with a rainbow stretching across the front over it. She completed her look with mustard yellow suspenders and, as demanded, a coat with an excessive amount of pockets. 

It was only a little bit later that the whole group ended up back at the warehouse, the Doctor having asked them to help her find her ship, although none of them knew what that would entail. So, there they were, each of them holding various pieces of equipment with some of them complaining more than others. 

"How long have we got to stand here for? I'm getting a cramp." 

"Seriously, Graham. I'm trying to concentrate here." 

The man scoffed. 

"Do you understand what she's doing?" Ryan asked, obviously impatient as well.

"My ship runs on a particular type of energy. I've tracked that energy trail from the moment I lost it to where it is now." The Doctor says, plugging various components into outlets and turning knobs here and there before coming to scan the transport pod from just a few nights ago. "Now, given this is a transport pod, I'm configuring it to send me to the planet where my ship seems to have ended up."

"You're going to another planet?" Yaz asked, her tone coming across as curious rather than impatient like the two boys to her right. 

"Well, trying to. Except, Stenza tech is really annoying and super hard to decipher. 139 layers, seven of which don't make sense. Right. Graham," She started, handing Graham a couple of jumper cables to plug into the battery he was holding in his arms. "Plug those into there. Yaz, thread that through the top of that." Pointed at the strange device in the corner. "And Ryan, you get to flip the switch." 

The Doctor came to stand in front of them, and they knew that was going to be goodbye. "Okay, you three. I'm almost going to miss you." Her gaze caught on Yaz the longest, conveying her own message to her. Yaz nodded. A bell rang through the warehouse, capturing the Doctor's attention. "That's it. It's connected up. It should work." She turned a knob on the microwave she had configured into her plan, straightening up with her sonic in her hand.

"Moment of truth then. Wish me luck. And goodbye." She aimed the sonic at the transport pod, flinching away when she pressed the button to turn it on, causing the others to do the same. The familiar buzzing filled the air until, with a flash of light, there was nothing.

Not even air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo, this is a long one. Almost 12,000 words I believe. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Bre


	4. Desolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when the Doctor and the gang crash land on an alien planet in the middle of a hugely competitive space race?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I think this chapter is about 8k words and I just learned that my spring break is extended for the foreseeable future so I will hopefully have pretty quick updates. Leave comments!
> 
> Bre

The first thing Yaz registered was voices, one of which sounded familiar while the other… not so much. She had yet to open her eyes but once she had, it almost felt like she hadn’t with how much information she had been able to take in. It was virtually nothing.

She knew she was upright, and she could tell she was in a pod of some sort, with metal doors closing her in, although she was grateful to see a small window just in front of her face. Just as she was thinking of ways so get out, the door slid open, as if reading the thoughts going through her head.

As she stepped out, the first thing she noticed was the movement. Turbulent in a way that only a plane ride was slightly comparable to, although even that was less so. Remembering the sight of space before she blacked out, Yaz could only draw the conclusion that she was on a ship.

In space.

She let out a shaky breath, running a hand through her hair to try and calm herself, taking a few steps away from the pod she’d just exited. There was another set of doors just to her right, and it was through them that she could hear the Doctor’s voice, as well as a voice she didn’t recognize.

Her footsteps were hesitant as she slowly walked towards the door, jumping slightly when they slid open when she was just a few feet away. Walking in her eyes were immediately drawn to the single window at the front of the ship where she could see billions of stars before them, and in that moment there was nothing that could have made her look away but she could vaguely hear the conversation going on around her between the Doctor and a man Yaz didn’t know.

“The power is failing on three systems! This ship is on the verge of total shut down!” The Doctor yelled, fiddling with the controls to Yaz’s left but looking out the window every few seconds at the space in front of them.

“How can a planet be in the wrong place?” The man asked, voice an octave higher in panic. “It should have been back there where I scooped you up. We should be in its gravity belt by now.”

“Well, we’re not.”

“I can see that.”

Yaz chose this moment to speak up, still not moving her eyes from the stars she could see through the small window. “Hi. I smell burning.” She said, voice lighter than usual but gaining the attention of the other two regardless.

“You were right, she is still alive.” The man said, glancing back at her briefly from where he sat in the pilot’s seat. The Doctor ignored him in favor of gripping Yaz by her shoulders, finally releasing her attention from the view from the window by sparking their connection once more. “Yaz. You need to stay locked in the medipod.” The Doctor said, trying to push her in that direction.

Yaz was having none of it, instead deciding to ask questions. “Where are Ryan and Graham?” She asked.

“There!” The Doctor pointed out the window towards where something was interrupting the view of space. “The planet’s there!” The man got up from his seat and joined her in looking.

“How can it be there?”

“Does it even have a name?”

The man didn’t look at them when he spoke. “Only a symbol, or a warning. Closest word is… desolation.”

Yaz and the Doctor shared a wide-eyed glance. Nothing good would ever be called Desolation, Yaz knew.

“Right. I can do this.” He walked over to the control panel to Yaz’s right, shoving her out of the way so suddenly that her eyes flashed a deep purple, luckily the man not seeing it but instead startling the Doctor who had caught her by the arm. Yaz met the Doctor’s eyes, her own returning back to their normal dark brown. “Sorry, caught me off guard.” Yaz said, coming to lean against one of the panels, and the Doctor just nodded slowly before turning back to the task at hand.

The man had kneeled down and quickly pulled one of the grates from the floor, uncovering a completely new set of controls. “Manual shield activation?” The Doctor asked, disbelief clear in her voice although Yaz wasn’t sure why. “What, this thing should be on Antique’s road show.”

He just grunted before flipping a switch and standing up. “Right. Blast shields up, not sure for how long though.”

Yaz watched the Doctor roll her eyes. “Brilliant. About to crash land on Desolation, real grounds for optimisim.”

“Do you not understand anything? I can’t even get us there! Because of the fuel I’ve wasted scooping you up!”

It was then that Yaz’s mind finally decided to catch up to the circumstances. “Right. I’m on a spaceship. Okay.” She stood up more fully, legs finally steady beneath her.

“I can get us into the atmosphere if we jettison the rear section.” The Doctor said, although the man didn’t seem to agree because he quickly got in her face.

“Listen to me, nobody is jettisoning anything. This is a _Cerebos_ , it’s the envy of millions.”

“Really?” The Doctor asked.

“Yes. People have written songs about her.”

She scoffed. “They’ll be writing operas about our pointless deaths if we don’t take drastic action _right now._ ” The man just gritted his teeth and turned his back, kneeling back down to flip more switches in the floor.

Yaz could feel the panic rising once more, and she gripped the Doctor’s sleeve. “Are we going to die?” She asked, eyes wide and fearful.

“Sorry Yaz, forgot you were there.” The Doctor looked at her in a completely not reassuring way, especially when Yaz could feel the Doctor’s own fear. “All going to be fine.” She said, immediately turning away again and looking back at the monitors. “Five systems down! Six minutes left on life support, are we doing this or what?”

The man looked back at her from where he sat once more in his chair. He growled, obviously realizing that there were no other choices. “Let’s do it.”

It happened fast after that. The doors to the back part of the ship slid shut, the Doctor and the man sharing a look before simultaneously pulling the levers on either side of the doors. Next thing there was a great shudder that went through the ship, and the next time Yaz looked back, the rear section of the ship was gone, only the sliding doors between them and the open space.

The man ran back to the controls as the front of the ship, growling loudly at how his ship was ruined. “All systems offline, we’re not going to make it!” He yelled, keeping a firm grip on the controls. The Doctor turned to Yaz. “Place your hand here!” She said, patting where she wanted Yaz to go.

Yaz hurried over, slamming her hand down where the Doctor said and looking over at her, working do keep her voice steady. “You can be honest with me,” she said. “Are we gonna die?”

“One day, yes. Comes to us all. But not right now, not if I’ve got anything to do with it.” The Doctor responded, tapping at the screens lining the walls. “This ship is old school. I’m good at old school.” She caught Yaz’s gaze and gestured with her head for her to kneel down with her, peeling another grate from the floor.

“Manual stabilizers. Pull these two levers up,” she said, gesturing towards said levers and indicating what would happen next. “They’ll pull down and to the left, you pull up and to the right. As strong as you can.” Yaz could feel the hand on her back as the Doctor stood up, and nodded quickly. “Got it.”

Yaz was quick to grab the levers the Doctor had indicated, and did her best to follow her instructions. She pulled them up and nearly dropped them when they threatened to snap back down. Yaz adjusted her grip on them to hold on more steadily and pulled up, making sure to angle them to the right like the Doctor had instructed. She could already feel her arms shaking with the effort but she did not let go, just held on tighter and looked back at the woman who had come to stand behind the man piloting the ship.

“That descent patter won’t work!” Yaz heard her yell as well as the panicked response from the pilot. “We’re about to die and you’re still having a go? Think you could do better?”

The Doctor just looked at him, then looked back at the stars in front of them, nodding resolutely. “Yes.” She said, sitting down in the copilot’s chair, gripping her own controls in her hands.

“Doctor, these stabilizers don’t feel very stable.” Yaz said, her hands shaking with the tight grip she had on the levers. She finally let go, deciding it wasn’t going to get any steadier and straightened up to move to stand behind the copilot’s chair, keeping herself up with a strong grip on the Doctor’s chair.

“By the way,” the Doctor said, looking at a screen to her left. “Level three shield hazing.”

“What? Seriously?” Came the panicked response. “High power failure, we’re heading into the gravity belt!”

After that the ride became even more turbulent, and Yaz was struggling to stay on her feet. She gripped the Doctor’s seat and held on as tight as she could, but even that was precarious, and the fear saturating the air around her was beginning to make it hard to her to concentrate. Yaz closed her eyes, took deep breaths to try and calm her thoughts and tune out the others feelings.

There was almost no point, since the second they hit the ground she was thrown to the ground anyway. Her shoulder slammed into the metal, causing her to yelp and immediately bring a hand up to clutch it.

It didn’t get much better in the seconds after they hit the ground as the ship still bounced and shuddered, only halting when they slowed to a stop. Yaz could see various plumes of smoke coming from the controls from where she still lay on the floor, shoulder aching from the harsh impact.

It was silent in the moments after, with only the sounds of heavy breathing filling the air. The Doctor was the first to snap out of it, hurrying to stand up from her chair. “Is everyone alright?”

The pilot just nodded, still panting too hard to speak, but Yaz was quiet, in shock and unable to say anything just then. The Doctor caught sight of her, on the ground and grasping hard at her shoulder and hurried over to kneel next to her.

“Okay, Yaz?” She asked, reaching towards her hesitantly, as if she wasn’t sure she should help.

Yaz finally snapped out of it, nodding as she moved herself into a sitting position, moving her hand from where it lay on her shoulder and using it to push herself up to stand. She felt the Doctor brush her forearm with her own hand before gripping it fully to help her stand. Her shoulder ached, and she took a moment to roll it back, trying to stretch the muscles she had injured when she hit the ground and causing the Doctor’s hand to fall back to her side. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

“You sure? Is your shoulder okay?”

“Yeah.” Yaz said, rolling it out once more. “Just sore. It’ll be alright in a bit, I’ve always healed fast.” And that’s true, probably something to do with Yaz’s powers, but the Doctor didn’t know that, just nodded, gaze still slightly concerned and Yaz smiled slightly, glad when the Doctor did the same.

They snapped out of their gaze when the pilot cleared his throat, clearly impatient at the time taken for the Doctor to check on her companion.

“Can we go now?” He asked, gruff and annoyed.

The Doctor just sighed and nodded, bringing her gaze away from Yaz once more and leading the way to the door, pulling the lever next to it to release it.

Finally exposed to the planet the had landed on, Yaz had to shut her eyes against the brightness when they walked outside. Yaz had never been to the desert before, but she didn’t think that it could possibly be any worse than the sight before her. She could only see sand, it stretched miles over the horizon. The horizon that, she noticed, happened to have three suns.

Yaz still shook as they walked up the small slope of sand on front of their crashed ship, caught up in the events of the past few minutes. She was snapped out of it by a familiar voice and felt relief of not only herself, but the Doctor as well, wash over her as two familiar faces came into view.

“Doctor!” Ryan yelled, relief clear in his voice.

“Sorry about the mess.” The Doctor said, although she really hadn’t sounded sorry at all through the obvious happiness at them all being alive.

“Yaz! You’re alive!” Ryan said to Yaz, smiling up at her from where Yaz was just realizing he had fallen along with Graham, who spoke up as he pushed himself from the ground. “We thought you were dead.” He said, going to help Ryan up as well.

“We thought you were.” She said, but smiling all the same at the fact that they weren’t.

“Right. Quick update.” The Doctor said, quickly getting into the matter at hand. “I’ve made a terrible mistake, we shouldn’t be here. I’m gonna fix it and get you guys home. I promise.” She looked at all of them, guilt present in her face and in her aura. It was likely what caused her to look away, off into the sandy distance.

“Once I figure out where we are.”

“How are you gonna do that?” Graham asked, holding his hand above his eyes in an attempt to shield them from the suns high above them.

“Not sure.” She said. “Treating it as a chance to surprise myself.” Yaz just rolled her eyes at that but didn’t say anything. She was just beginning to follow the Doctor when she seemed to remember something. “Oh, and welcome to what I presume is your first alien planet! Don’t touch anything.” She said, mostly aiming the last part at Ryan with a pointed finger and a stern glance.

“Come on, let’s try this way.” She led the way down the sand dune to where their pilot was stood arguing with another middle-aged, short-haired woman. Yaz assumed she piloted the other ship she had seen a bit further behind them.

“Look at you, Epzo! See you can’t even control your own ship now, you almost killed us!” The woman said as the man, Epzo, Yaz guesses, comes down the hill after her, backpack strapped to his back as he scoffed.

“Well, yeah, I’ll try harder next time, eh?” Epzo said with a smirk set on his face as he walked past her. “Where’s Cornlight and Fiven?” He asked.

“Failed hyperjump. Both of them,” The woman said, turning her body to keep Epzo in her sights. “Just you and me left.”

“You’re kidding me?” She just shook her head, and Epzo began to laugh, prompting looks between the four standing off to the side watching the exchange. Yaz could tell the Doctor was about to intervene, so she reached out and grasped onto the sleeve of her coat, startling her into looking at her with a confused gaze.

Yaz took a chance then, and used their shared contact to form another connection with the Doctor, although a different kind of connection than the slipped feelings Yaz could sometimes feel from the other woman. She slipped into the Doctor’s head, gently enough that she could be pushed out if the other woman didn’t want it, but she just tilted her head slightly at the intrusion.

Yaz pushed just a bit more, projecting her own thoughts into the Doctor’s head. She’d done it a few times with her mother, but never with anyone else and she hoped the Doctor would react well to it.

 _“Don’t intervene yet.”_ Yaz thought, pushing them gently into the Doctor’s head _._ The blonde’s eyes widened, and she nearly pulled away from Yaz, but she held tight, eyes imploring her to listen. The Doctor stopped trying to move away, just watched her with slight bewilderment before she pushed back.

 _“Why not?”_ The Doctor asked, head slightly tilted at both the request and Yaz’s particular ability to connect to her like this.

 _“Listening to them argue will give us a better idea of what’s happening here. It already sounds like they’re in a race of some kind.”_ Yaz responded, and was glad to see understanding dawn the Doctor’s features.

 _“Ah.”_ The Doctor thought. _“That’s actually quite brilliant.”_

After that, they turned their attention back to the conversation before them, although Yaz kept her connection with the Doctor. And the woman didn’t seem to mind, as she allowed Yaz to sit in her mind. Perhaps it was because she knew Yaz couldn’t get a real read off of her, but Yaz was grateful for it all the same, as the comfort in not being along was great.

Epzo was speaking to the woman again. “You have got so lucky. How’d you even make it this far, Angstrom, eh? You’re nothing.” He said patronizingly as he looked down at her. “Still, makes the next bit easy.”

“You’d really love that, wouldn’t you?” Angstrom said back in her own condescending tone. “But I’ve got two bonuses, same as you.” And that was the last thing said as an alarm blared through the air.

There was nothing that Yaz could see on the planet that could have possibly had an alarm system, but she continued looking away and noticed Graham covering his ears against the blaring noise. She couldn’t blame him, it really was quite loud. “What’s that?” The Doctor asked, looking around as well.

“Here we go.” She heard Angstrom said, jumping down a small cliff in the sand and walking towards the other side of the crater they’d seemed to jumped into.

“What do you mean here we go?” The Doctor asked, although she was quick to follow them and prompting the other three to hurry behind her. “Here we go where? To what?”

“Where are we actually going?” Ryan asked but received no answer. Just a hurried, “come on!” from the Doctor.

They came out of the crater and walked down the other side, and it was then that they noticed a tent off in the distance. The group came to a stop, just at the bottom of the small slope and looked out at the small tent pitched in the middle of nowhere.

“Do you two know what that is?” The Doctor asked, nodding her head towards the tent.

“It’s a tent.”

The Doctor rolled her eyes harder than Yaz had ever seen, and turned to Epzo with a icy look, scoffing in obvious annoyance at the obvious answer. Yaz herself turned to the man with her own glare. “No, well obviously it’s a tent.” The Doctor said, scoffing again when Epzo just pushed past them towards the tent.

The Doctor sighed. “Never mind.” She said, turning to them. “Come on, no dawdling.” And towards the tent they went, following after Angstrom and Epzo although they still weren’t quite sure what they were there for.

The blonde guided the three humans towards the tent, at about half way across handing over a pair of sun glasses she’d somehow acquired to Graham when she noticed him rubbing his eyes against the sand and wind blowing around them.

“If we’re on an alien planet, how come they aren’t speaking alien?” Graham asked, gesturing ahead of them at Epzo and Angstrom.

The Doctor pulled him towards her suddenly. “Let’s have a look.” She said, pulling the collar of his shirt down around the back of his neck. “Yeah. Medipods have put implants into each of you. Standard procedure. Checks for a universal translator and implants one if you don’t already have it.”

Yaz’s own hand flew up to the back of her neck and, sure enough, she could feel a small bump under her skin where apparently a universal translator was imbedded. Although, she had to admit that it could come in handy on Earth as well. Graham didn’t seem to share her logic, as his voice immediately rose in pitch. “Well can people and things stop putting things inside me without my permission?”

“If I had my TARDIS, you wouldn’t need them.” The Doctor just said, shrugging her shoulders as if they should have suddenly known what a TARDIS was. “Anyway, shall we?” And they continued their walk to the tent.

As they came upon the opening the Doctor turned to them and spoke to them seriously. “Be careful. We don’t know what’s going on and it could be dangerous. Probably is dangerous.” She said, eyes locking with each of them to make sure they understood, coming to land on Yaz last, almost imploring her to do something, although Yaz wasn’t sure what yet.

Before she could read into it any more, the Doctor turned and pushed into the tent, bringing the group to stand behind Epzo and Angrstrom, who were facing another man, sat upon a couch and surrounded by various pillows and tapestries. Yaz looked at him and something automatically felt off with him, with the whole set up, and she looked up to see the Doctor looking at her intensely again, flicking her eyes towards the man shortly before returning to her.

Yaz’s eyes widened in realization at what the Doctor wanted her to do, and nodded in understanding, turning her attention back to the man in front of them.

Even when Yaz separated her own mind from others, she could still hear their thoughts moving through their heads, can hear and feel how fast they’re moving and what the general feeling of them is. She wasn’t getting any of that when she looked at the strange man at the front of the tent and tilted her head.

She tugged on her connection with the Doctor once more and turned to look at her knowing that she would be looking back. She was.

 _“Either he’s a ghost, or he’s not here.”_ Yaz thought, gaze boring into the Doctor’s, who’s expression turned almost excited.

 _“Well, there’s no such thing as ghosts, so he’s got to be a hologram. Well done, Yaz.”_ The blonde said, looking at her with a proud look and Yaz beamed back.

“This is lavish for a tent.” The Doctor said, coming to stand in front of the man as she introduced them. “I’m the Doctor. These are my new best friends, Ryan, Graham, and Yaz. Now…” She trailed off as she swept her hand out in front of her.

Ryan and Graham were the only two surprised when the Doctor’s hand just passed through the man, phasing through him like a ghost.

“Ahh, a hologram. Thought it might be. Good one though, I love a good hologram. I was a hologram once. For three weeks, the gossip I picked up.” She rambled, only getting to the point when she saw Yaz’s raised eyebrow, turning back to the front.

“What are you? Projection reality or AI interface? Because if you’re interface,” she crept towards him, “those are excellent nose hairs.”

Up until then the man had been watching her study him, just staring unmoving, only just then turning to the two pilots. “Who are these people?”

“Bonuses.” Angstrom said, glancing back at them but quickly looking back when the man answered.

“No.”

“What?”

“I told you, bonuses and snake traps are over.”

“They were handing in the starfield when we exited hyper.” Epzo said. “Are you saying we scooped them for nothing?”

“Yes.” The man said bluntly, not at all fazed by the anger radiating from Epzo.

“I sacrificed my ship.”

“Yeah, sorry. Some of this is my fault.” The Doctor cut in, turning to the man at the front once more. “Hi, we were loads of solar systems away, I was trying to find my own ship. I got a fix on it here, and then it all went quite badly wrong actually.” She turned to face the three humans behind her. “These three have been very good not going on about it, and we’re very grateful you came along.” She aimed the last part at Epzo.

“Can I just ask what is actually going on here, because I’m confused. Are you confused?” She asked the humans, which prompted three increasingly confused answers.

“Pretty confused.” Said Yaz, although she was likely the least confused of the three, but she couldn’t let them know that.

“Proper confused.” Ryan replied next.

“I’m way beyond confused.” That was Graham, who was sliding his sunglasses off his face and placing them in his shirt pocket.

“You’re intruding on the final stage of the last of the rally of the twelve galaxies.” So Yaz had been right, it was some sort of race.

“So, it is a race.” The Doctor looked back at Yaz briefly with a proud smile before turning her attention back. “Like the Paris Dakar in space. Are you two space racing each other?” She asked Angstrom and Epzo.

“We’re the finalists.”

“4000 entered, two are left.” Angstrom and Epzo nodded, obviously satisfied with their accomplishment. “Only one will claim the prize.”

Yaz was about to ask but Ryan beat her to it. “What’s the prize?”

“For the final level race, 3.2 trillion krin.”

Once again, Yaz was beat to the question, by the Doctor this time. “3.2 trillion what?”

“Krin.” Said Angstrom under her breath.

“How much is a krin?”

“200 Kavlons.”

“That’s 94 valoes.” Epzo answered then, but only succeeded in confusing the Doctor more as she looked between them, her face scrunched in confusion.

“No…”

“4,000 trenties.”

“Uh…”

“In old money.”

“Bit behind on my exchange rates.”

“Enough,” the man at the front cut in, “to provide a lifetime of comfort on a safe world for the winning pilot and their entire clan.”

“Are we eligible, too?” Asked Ryan, earning himself various incredulous looks from not just Yaz herself as well as two yells of, “No!” From the two competitors.

“You’re irrelevant.” Epzo said. “Get on with it, tell us the task.”

The man just looked amused, a smirk set on his face. “The final challenge is to cross the terrain. Survive the planet and make your way to the other side of the mountains, the first one to make it to the site marked as the Ghost Monument will be crowned the winner and transported off this planet. Loser, will not.”

“You can’t just leave one of us here! The ships are out of fuel!” Angstrom said, shocked at the brutality of the man in front of them. He stood up and got in her face, causing Yaz and the Doctor to take a small step forward, although they weren’t sure they’d be able to do anything.

“Don’t tell me what I can and cannot do with my own race.” He threatened, pulling back and looking between the two competitors. “You knew the risks when he joined. Biggest ever prize, biggest ever risk.”

“Oi! What about us?” Asked Graham, looking frantically between everyone in the tent.

“Shut up.” Epzo turned to him. “You’re not part of this.”

“Excuse me! We are human beings, show a bit of solidarity.”

“I’m Muxteran, she’s Alberian.” The pilot said, gesturing towards his female opponent.

“Never even heard of ‘Moomin Beans.” Angstrom said, shrugging her shoulders, although she did seem a bit more apologetic than Epzo.

“Beings.” Ryan started in. “Human Beings. Earth.”

“Nope.”

“Pretty cruel race, leaving the loser stranded.” The Doctor interrupted, looking the race master in the eye.

“The Rally is a test of _survival_.” He said by way of explanation. “How far will we go? How will we react when challenged? It’s the ultimate test.”

“Interesting use of the word ‘we’, seeing as you’re not here.” The Doctor pulled her sonic from where it sat in her pocket, immediately scanning him as he walked past her. “Projected in from a very long way away.”

“I started the rally. I competed, and I won, and now I’m going to end it. No sabotage, no injuries, no killing each other.” He aimed this at the two competitors.

“Shame.”

“Instant disqualification applies.” His gaze bored into Epzo’s. “Now, take your meds, don’t travel at night, and don’t drink the water. No, don’t even touch the water. This entire planet has been made cruel.”

“Made cruel how? And by who?” The Doctor asked but was promptly ignored.

“This stage must be completed before one, full solar rotation.” Yaz could see the Doctor rolling her eyes out of the corner of her gaze. “You have one single piece of assistance. Transport, provided by the water. Cross the water, through the ruins, and the site of the Ghost Monument is on the other side of the mist swamps.”

“Mist what?” Yaz asked, sure she heard something wrong. She wasn’t surprised when shew as ignored as well.

“Route trackers are over there.” Everyone’s eyes shifted to the table in the corner where they noticed two triangle-shaped trackers lay. “Good luck.”

The Doctor tried to speak again. “I know you prefer to ignore me, but what is it, this Ghost Monument?” To Yaz’s surprise, she actually got an answer.

“The site was named by the ancient settlers. It appears in exactly the same place every thousand rotations.”

Yaz could vaguely hear the two competitors grab their trackers and announce their departure, could hear their farewell speeches about cigars and winning, but she was mostly focused on the conversation in front of her. She got the sense the Doctor knew something besides what she was saying, and she wanted to know what it was.

“What does it look like, this monument?”

“Why does it matter?” The Doctor flinched as the hologram phased through her, coming to stand on the other side closer to the companions, stopping in front of a table off to the side.

“Look at us,” the Doctor started. “Four people who barely know each other stranded on a planet called Desolation. No route trackers, no way off, and judging by what you’ve just told us, little chance of survival. I need all the information I can get, including, but not limited to, what this Ghost Monument actually looks like when it appears.”

The man taps the table in front of him, startling the group when a picture formed just above it. Yaz could see it was an image of a cliff, very much of the same terrain they’d come to expect from Desolation. However, she could also see, there just on the edge of a cliff, a dark blue police box, fading in and out of their vision every few seconds.

“That’s an old police box! Like the one on Surrey street. What’s one doing here?” Graham asked, confusion clear on his face. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

Yaz heard the Doctor’s gasp from her spot next to her and looked at her, gently nudging her shoulder to encourage her into speaking. “It makes sense to me. Thank you, thank you so much.” She said to the man, eyes conveying just how grateful she was. He just looked at her and shrugged. “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”

“For some reason, I don’t think you are.”

“You’re right.” And that was the last thing said before the tent around them disappeared, exposing them to the harsh suns once more. Yaz out of the corner of her eye could see Graham hurrying to find his borrowed sunglasses again, quickly unfolding them and placing them over his eyes.

Even after the man left them stranded, the Doctor still had an incredibly happy expression on her face, for what though, Yaz couldn’t be sure.

Although, there was only one thing the Doctor had been bringing up at every opportunity, and that was…

“Was that your ship?” Yaz asked, realization flooding her features even as the boys looked at her strangely, but she just kept looking at the Doctor, who smiled, surprised at her intuitiveness. Yaz just shrugged. “I _am_ a police officer.” She said by way of explanation.

“Yes. That’s my ship. It’s here.”

“What the old police box?”

“It didn’t look all that.”

The Doctor looked at them, offended. “It’s very all that, thank you very much. Don’t you see? I’ve got it mostly right. I tracked my TARDIS here, but the planet had fallen out of orbit. We landed where the planet should have been. It looks like the engines are stuck in a loop, phasing in and out of time and space.” Her face shifted into excitement.

“If we get to it when it phases in, I should be able to stabilize it. Then I can get you back home.”

“Definitely?” Asked Yaz, letting hope shine through her voice. “If we can get there then you can get us off this planet alive?”

“Yaz, I promise. I will keep you alive and I will get you back home.” The Doctor turned an intense look onto Yaz before looking at all of them again. “I’m really good in a tight spot. At least, I have been historically. I’m sure I still am. If we stick together, if you trust me, we can get out of this.”

“Right.” Yaz said. “But we should probably follow them.” All their gazes shifted to Angstrom and Epzo, who were the size of dots off in the distance. Everyone agreed, and off they went, crossing the desert landscape once more.

The suns rose fast, and by the time they caught up to the other two they were high in the sky. Epzo and Angstrom were stopped by the water, which is where Yaz remembered transport would be provided and this was solidified by the small boat they could see floating at the single dock over the water.

When they reached Epzo and Angstrom the man had a gun pointed at her head and they were already well into an argument.

“I said, stay away from the boat.” Epzo said, hand steady as he pointed the gun at Angstrom’s forehead. She just scoffed.

“You can’t have it all to yourself.”

“This blaster says otherwise.” He shrugged, only noticing the Doctor when she was already right next to them.

“Put the blaster down, we all know you aren’t gonna use it.” She said, although it didn’t make Epzo drop the gun. “No injuring, no killing, no sabotage. Isn’t that what what’s-his-face said?”

“Yeah, well maybe I don’t play by the rules.”

“Did you practice those lines in the mirror?” Next thing anyone knew, the Doctor took her figure and shoved it into a pressure point on Epzo’s neck, rendering him completely paralyzed to the shock of everyone else. “Venusian Aikido. Temporarily paralyzes while being fundamentally harmless.” She explained, reveling in the impressed look she got from Angstrom.

The Doctor pushed Epzo’s arm just out of aim of Angstrom’s forehead, and only then did she let go of the man, allowing him to wheeze in a breath that his lungs were no longer used to.

“This boat doesn’t work.” Angstrom said, gesturing towards the boat just in front of them. Yaz looked around, remembering the man in the tent’s warning about the water and looked down at said water suspiciously.

“Me and Ryan will take a look at it.” Graham said, patting the boy on the shoulder.

“Will we?”

“Yeah well those NVQ classes have to be good for something. An engine’s an engine.”

“Not a space engine!” Graham just shrugged, and they pushed passed everyone else to walk onto the boat, leaving the four of them out there.

“You don’t get to take charge here.” Epzo cut in, obviously angry at having been incapacitated so easily by the small blonde woman in front of him. “This is about me and her fighting to win.”

Yaz had finally had enough, sighing loudly while rolling her eyes. “We’re all going to the same place and that boat is big enough for all of us.”

“Yaz is right. If we get this started then we all get on board.”

Epzo’s eyes narrowed. “I know what this is. You’re part of Ilin’s game. Saboteurs sent to throw us off.”

“You think the whole universe is out to get you.” Angstrom looked at him, disbelieving at his cynicism.

He stared back at her. “How’s your family, Angstrom?”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out he’d hit a nerve, as Angstrom immediately pulled back. Yaz could see as she closed in on herself, and it made her angry. She allowed her feet to bring her forward, “Hey! Knock it off.” She said, stepping between them and staring Epzo down.

Their height different was quite large, so he just smiled as he looked down at her. “Why would I do that?”

Then he pushed her.

It wasn’t even a hard push, but it was enough for Yaz’s instincts to flare, and she got back in his face. She felt her eyes glowing, and knew he saw it too, as his eyes widened slightly and he pulled back from her, although he tried to appear brave.

“Yaz…” The Doctor tried to placate her, shocked at the purple glow of her friend’s eyes. It worked a bit, but Yaz still stared Epzo down for a few more moments before she finally walked away, coming to stand by the Doctor once more and crossing her arms. She kept her eyes locked with him, waited for him to break the eye contact before she shifted her own gaze. And he did, she smugly noted.

Yaz finally looked away when she felt the Doctor’s hand on her shoulder; made eye contact with her and knew her eyes were still glowing from the look in the Doctors’ own eyes. She closed her eyes briefly, but by the time she opened them again the glow was gone. She was fine again, and she nodded at the Doctor to let her know that.

It was silent for a moment. Until…

“What the hell was that?” Epzo asked, his bravery apparently having returned. “Who are you?” He stared Yaz down, as if that would intimidate her in some way.

But she just shrugged and turned away. “Don’t know what you mean. I’m Yaz.”

One brief look at the Doctor told Yaz that she would back her, and Angstrom hadn’t seen her eyes glow so it was easy to convince Epzo that what he had seen was a hallucination.

Angstrom was obviously confused and it showed on her face and in her tone. “What are you going on about Epzo?”

Yaz could feel his gaze burning into her and just looked back calmly, eyebrow raised slightly. He was angry, she could tell, but he let it go for the time being, just shook his head.

“Nothing, I suppose.”

Yaz was pulled away from the entire exchange by the Doctor kneeling, pulling her down next to her next to the water. She watched as the blonde pulled out her sonic and scanned the water below them. She didn’t seem to like the results, as she immediately shook her head after reading them.

“So that’s why he said don’t touch the water.” Yaz just looked at her, questioning until she continued.

“Flesh-eating microbes. Millions of them living in there.” She looked at Yaz again, an unreadable look in her eyes. “Toxic atmosphere, killer water. Very dangerous planet, Yaz.”

They stood up again, left the other two to remain by the water while they split off and headed back to the sand, coming up on two tree stumps and sitting down to wait out Graham and Ryan fixing the boat.

Yaz could feel the Doctor looking back at her and allowed her own gaze to meet the woman’s eyes. She raised her eyebrow, prompting the woman to ask the question Yaz knew she had.

“Your powers, Yaz. What are they from?”

Yaz actually hadn’t expected that question. Had expected something about her eyes or why they’d glowed twice that day. Regardless, she answered anyway.

“Mum said they’re genetic. Said that her sister had them and her mum did too. Also said they got them just after their 18th birthdays.” Yaz explained, looking down at her hands.

The Doctor just nodded, deep in her own thoughts before speaking again. “How old are you Yaz?”

“I’m nineteen, why?”

“So, you’ve had them for a while then?”

“Well…” Yaz looked at her. “Mine actually came in late. Just a few months ago actually. Mum was surprised when they came in. She didn’t even tell me about them until that day because she thought they wouldn’t come in at all.”

The Doctor just hummed, nodded her head while looking away from her. Yaz couldn’t help it, leaned forward. “Why are you asking these questions, Doctor?”

The blonde’s gaze returned to her. “I just want to understand. I’ve met a lot of humans, Yaz, but none of them quite like you.” She went quiet for a moment but Yaz sensed she wanted to ask more questions.

“You can ask whatever you want Doctor, as long as we’re alone.” Yaz trusted the Doctor for some reason. Trusted her to keep her secret from the world. Trusted her promise to keep her safe.

The Doctor smiled gently and nodded. “Alright.” She started, then thought for a moment. “Do your eyes always glow like that?” She asked, thinking back to just minutes before.

“No,” Yaz said, smiling. “Just when I get caught off guard, or when my instincts flare. And when I use my more physical powers.” The woman hummed again.

“Are you really worried about Graham and Ryan’s reactions to them? Is that why you won’t use them in front of them?”

Yaz sighed, nodded slightly, but then shook her head as well. “A little. All my mum has been telling me for the past three months is to hide them. That if anyone finds out I’ll be taken away and experimented on or killed. And it makes sense, so nobody has felt safe enough for me to tell them about it.” Yaz said, looking at the Doctor who was nodding in understanding. “Until you, I suppose.” She added, smiling when saw a proud smile form on the woman’s face.

“Right, well, thanks for that, I suppose.” She turned a bit more serious. “For the record, though, I don’t think Ryan or Graham would look at you any differently if they found out about them. They’ve been taking all this alien stuff really well, so I can’t see them finding this out about you and not taking it well. Of course, it’s up to you, but maybe you should let them in. Don’t hide who you are. Especially out here.”

Yaz watched as the Doctor stood up after he speech, her eyes wide in surprise at the woman’s audacity. She wasn’t mad, just shocked, but it caused her to think.

The Doctor just smiled down at her. “Alright,” she said. “I’m going to go check on the boys and see if we can’t get the boat started. Just think about what I told you, okay?” Yaz nodded in agreement, smiling as the Doctor walked away and disappeared into the boat.

Yaz allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts for a moment. Maybe telling the boys wouldn’t be such a bad idea. After all, they were in space, so she couldn’t possibly be the weirdest thing they’d see. She sighed and dragged a hand down her face.

Whatever, she supposed. She had time to tell them. Maybe wouldn’t even have to tell them at all, but she guessed that would depend on the rest of the days events. She was broke out of her musings by the Doctor standing just outside of the boat, which Yaz was just realizing had been started. Yaz stood up and walked towards where the Doctor was waving her over, taking a deep breath.

“You ready?” The Doctor asked, a questioning look in her eyes that Yaz knew wasn’t just about getting on the boat. But she nodded nonetheless and walked onto the boat in front of her, sitting down on the bend next to where Ryan had already sat down, across from the Doctor and Graham. Angstrom and Epzo were already there too, although one of them refused to look at Yaz much to her satisfaction.

The boat was covered, and she was glad for the reprieve from the suns that had been beating down on her. She was thankful that her dark skin was less likely to burn because, looking at where Graham and even the Doctor were beginning to turn a faint pink, she knew she was being spared quite a lot of discomfort.

As the boat pushed off, she looked across the seats at the Doctor, who she saw was already looking back and smiled.

“Okay, Yaz?” The Doctor asked, a small smile on her own face.

“Yeah,” Yaz said, keeping eye contact with the woman across from her. “I’m good.”


	5. The Ghost Monument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follow the group as they travel across the planet Desolation in search of the ever searched for Ghost Monument.

“Hey Yaz, can you believe it? Alien planet, man.” Yaz looked over at Ryan and chuckled, a small smile on her face at his excitement and attempt to break the silence that had covered the atmosphere in the boat.

“I know.” She said, shaking her head in her own disbelief. She looked over when she heard the scanning of the sonic and saw the Doctor with her head bent over it shaking her head.

“This planet doesn’t make any sense.” She scanned again. “No other life forms except for us and the microbes in the water. No people, no animals, no insects. Nothing. But he talked about the old settlements. What happened here?”

“No one cares.” Yaz’s head turned to Epzo, watched him tip his head back and take the meds given to them.

“Don’t take it personal.” Angstrom said. “He treats everyone like this.” Epzo began to laugh, but it was a sharp laugh, and Yaz could feel the bitterness radiating off the man even as he smiled.

“I don’t need other people.” He shrugged, but Yaz knew he was hurting, although he did a decent job of hiding it behind anger and sarcasm.

She saw Graham look over at the man. “We all need people mate.” It didn’t take a telepath or genius to know who he was thinking about in that moment.

“We’re all alone,” Epzo continued. “It’s the way we start and end, and it’s the natural state of all points in between.”

Yaz and the Doctor shared a look. Graham kept his gaze on Epzo. “Were you born that miserable? Or did you have to work at it?”

Yaz’s eyebrow rose slightly when Epzo let out another dark chuckle. “You know, when I was four, my mother told me to climb a tree. She made me climb until I was too scared to climb any higher. Then she told me to jump, into her arms.” He looked over at them.

“’Don’t worry’ she said ‘I’m your mum, I’ll catch you.’ So, I jumped. Then, she moved out of the way.” Yaz heard Graham’s shocked, “what?” but she kept her gaze locked on the man.

“Smashed into the ground. Broke that arm, shattered that ankle,” He pointed to the areas on his right side. “And she stood over me and she said, ‘Now you’ve learned. You can never trust anyone in this life.’”

“That is messed up.” Yaz’s gaze snapped to Ryan and then back to Epzo.

“Best thing she ever did for me.” Yaz was shocked to realize that he meant it, even if he was angry about it. “I love my mum.”

“Yeah.” Graham shared a look with Yaz. “She sounds terrific.”

She watched the Doctor lean forward, turn her head to see Epzo more clearly. “Your mum was wrong, we’re stronger together.” And she leaned back, catching Yaz’s eye.

They had been riding in relative silence, only the sounds of the crashing waves around them breaking it. Yaz was looking down at her hands in her lap, lost in her thoughts when she felt a tug at her subconscious.

Her head shot up and she wasn’t surprised to find the Doctor already looking at her. Yaz tilted her head as if asking _what’s up?_

She felt the Doctor fully connect with her and almost smiled at how gentle it felt.

 _‘Are you alright?’_ Yaz heard, and saw the Doctor tilt her own head. She didn’t nod back, didn’t want to draw any attention to herself or the Doctor. She did speak back.

 _‘Yeah, why?’_ The Doctor smiled a small smile at her.

‘ _Because you’ve been staring at your hands for the past half hour.’_ Yaz felt herself blush slightly, and brought one of her hands up to lean her chin on.

 _‘Oh’_ she thought, blushing more when she saw the Doctor smiling at her, obviously amused. ‘ _I’m fine, just thinking.’_ She finished, relieved when the Doctor looked away for a moment before looking back.

 _‘Care to share?’_ Yaz rolled her eyes at the expression, much to the Doctor’s amusement, but she answered regardless.

 _‘Just thinking about what you said earlier. About telling the boys.’_ The saw the Doctor shrug lightly, unnoticeable to anyone else but her.

_‘It’s up to you, Yaz. I do think you’d feel better if you told someone.’_

_‘You know.’_ The Doctor let out an inaudible sigh.

‘ _I won’t always be around, Yaz.’_

Yaz knew that, really. That didn’t mean she wasn’t upset about it, even though she’d only known this woman for a few days. Although, Yaz figured there would be some leeway, since they’d fought an alien together and were currently stranded on an alien planet together. She sighed, ignoring Ryan when she felt his gaze move to her and instead answering the Doctor.

‘ _I know. I’m just scared.’_ The Doctor tilted her head, curious.

_‘Scared of what?’_

_‘Like, what if I tell them and they turn me in? What if I tell them and they don’t want me around anymore? What if I tell them and they get upset that I have these powers and couldn’t do anything to save Grace?’_ Yaz rambled mentally, not surprised at the Doctor’s wide-eyed stare. She was, however, surprised at the sympathy that suddenly filled her gaze.

 _‘Yaz, they care about you. I doubt they would turn you in for this, especially after all they’ve seen the past few days. You aren’t the weirdest thing they’ve seen. You aren’t even the weirdest thing they’ve seen today. As for Grace, I don’t think they’ll get upset with you over that. If they did, and that’s a big if, it would only be because of the grief.’_ The Doctor’s eyes bored into her own. _‘Open up Yaz. It’s not as bad as you’re thinking.’_

Yaz sighed again, although quiet enough so as not to draw attention to herself again, and kept her gaze locked on the Doctor’s before nodding slightly. She looked towards the ground after that.

 _‘Thank you, Doctor.’_ Yaz felt the connection sever after that, although she could still feel the other woman’s presence in her mind.

A snore broke through the silence, and they all turned to look at the source. “I see your mate has dropped off. Nice to see him quiet,” Graham said to Angstrom, although his eyes were still on Epzo.

“Yeah,” she scoffed, “He can nap anywhere. Famous for it.”

Yaz saw the Doctor lean forward. “How many stages are there in the rally?”

“This time, 209 terrains, and 94 planets. We start the race with nothing and barter our way up.” Angstrom said, looking between Yaz and the Doctor.

“Is it worth it?” Angstrom’s gaze landed on the blonde.

“To ensure enough for my family’s safety, yeah. Albarr is being systematically cleansed. Half my family are in hiding, the others are on the run. This is my only chance to bring us back together.” Her eyes glazed over, and Yaz could tell she was somewhere else.

“So you left your family for this?” Everyone’s gaze went to Ryan, who had spoken for the first time since the conversation began.

“I left my family to save my family.” She stared him down. “They told me to. If I win, I find them, rescue them. If they’re alive to be rescued.” Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“And whatever happens here is a better chance than I have back home.”

The silence covered them once more before the Doctor spoke. “You should all rest. I’ll wake you when we get there.” Her gaze bore into Yaz and she knew she was talking to her more than anyone else. She sighed, nodding her head slightly. Yaz wasn’t sure what to make of the way the Doctor always looked to her first, but she put it out of her head for the time being. She allowed her head to lean back, allowed her eyes to close, and allowed herself to drift off to the soft crashing of waves against the boat.

Yaz was woken by shaken shoulders and a gentle voice coming from somewhere close by.

“Yaz, wake up. We’re here.” Yaz’s eyes slowly opened to the sight of the Doctor knelt down in front of her, hands lightly grasping Yaz’s upper arms. She sat up, bringing one of her hands up to rub at her eyes to try and wake herself up more.

She hadn’t meant to get into such a deep sleep, but she did feel better than she had before. She waited until the Doctor stood up in front of her and moved off to the side to stand up herself, pushing off from the bench under her.

“How long was I sleeping?” Yaz asked, gazing over at the Doctor who she noticed was looking at her with a strange expression until the question snapped her out of it. Yaz watched blonde hair fly around as the woman shook her head, seeming to break herself out of a trance.

“Uh, about half an hour. Not long.” The Doctor said before turning to walk out of the boat, leaving Yaz to trail behind her. She noticed Ryan was still sleeping, but Graham seemed to have been awake for a while and knew he would take care of getting Ryan awake. She stepped outside and off the boat, coming to stand on another dock that lead to more sand and walked towards the Doctor, stopping when she was next to her.

The Doctor seemed to have gotten out of the strange mood she had been in as she looked up at Yaz and smiled slightly. Yaz couldn’t help but smile back.

It only took a few more seconds for both Ryan and Graham to join then, but when they did the group was off immediately.

Yaz watched as Epzo took something out of his pocket, and a closer look showed it to be a cigar. The one he had been talking about in the tent, she remembered vaguely.

It only took seconds after that for another argument start, and Yaz rolled her eyes. She hadn’t expected anything else, really.

“Have you seen yourself, Epzo? I’d say, you love that cigar more than you’ve loved any person.

“Have you any idea how rare and expensive these are?” He asked, still holding it in his hand. “It takes half an Althusian lifetime to make just one of these.” Yaz turned to the Doctor and sighed when she saw her looking back, drawing an amused smile from the blonde woman as well as a shrug as they tuned back into the conversation.

“To make them, roll them, age them, and then, this is the best bit, they make them self-lighting. Just one click of the finger and it lights itself.” He lifted the cigar to his nose and sniffed. “Do you want a sniff?” Yaz cringed slightly. “This is the closest you’ll ever get to victory.”

“Bad for your health.” Epzo just chuckled.

The conversation ended there as they came upon the remains of what looked like a small civilization. “Big set of ruins.” The Doctor said, eyes squinting from the brightness of the suns beating down on them. “Wonder who those were built for.”

Epzo groaned. “Why do you even care?” The Doctor ignored him.

“Where are those people now? And why are there so few signs of life? What happened to everyone?”

Epzo just looked at her, then shook his head. “Bye.” He said, and he was off.

Angstrom was nicer about her farewell, leaving them with a ‘good luck!’.

Yaz watched as the Doctor pulled her sonic out of her coat pocket, scanning their surroundings once more and squinting at the readings.

“Are we just letting them go?” Graham asked. “How are we gonna know what to do?”

“First thing we have to do is make it through those ruins safely, because these readings are all over the place and I don’t know why. Let’s go.” She began walking towards the ruins and Yaz quickly followed behind her, knowing Graham and Ryan wouldn’t be too far behind.

They walked slower than usual as they made there way into the ruins, and from the way the Doctor’s eyes never stayed in one place, Yaz could tell the Doctor was monitoring their surroundings very closely.

Yaz was too, as she kept herself sharp, allowed her powers to connect her with her surroundings and scan the ruins. She could feel something, but kept quiet when she couldn’t quite figure out what it was, just followed closely behind the Doctor and kept an eye out around them.

When they made it into the ruins they paused, which Yaz figured was good because she could hear the boys panting behind her from the journey up the sand dune and onto the platform they came to stand on. Yaz watched as the Doctor’s eyes went to sky, and allowed hers to do the same.

“Those suns are starting to set.” The Doctor said, looking out at the horizon, her hair flying all around from the wind. Yaz looked too, and sure enough the three suns were only a few centimeters over the skyline. “They’re moving way faster than I realized.”

“Well, in the tent that bloke Ilin said ‘do not travel by night’.” Graham quoted, looking over at the Doctor.

“We need to move. Fast.”

Yaz could feel something cold surrounding them, but was too late in noticing as the Doctor turned around and froze, a gasp quickly cut off.

Hearing the hitch, Yaz turned around as well, not quite surprised to find herself and her friends surrounded. She could hear the boys’ gasp as well as she looked around, seeing what she could only describe as robots standing in various positions around them. They were all carrying guns and already Yaz could feel her powers trying to flow out of her.

She allowed her hands to curl into tight fists to try and keep herself under control and stood her ground, waiting for the next move.

“They weren’t there when we came in.” Graham said unnecessarily, although Yaz knew it was mostly from fear.

“Where’d they come from?” Ryan joined in.

“I don’t know.”

Yaz stayed quiet. Watched as the Doctor creeped up to one of them, sonic in hand and scanned them quickly, much closer than Yaz would have preferred. “Doctor…” She warned, reaching a hand out to grab the Doctor’s sleeve and pull her back.

“So much for no life forms on this planet,” Graham said.

“They’re not alive,” the Doctor replied and turned to face them, looking at the readings on her sonic. “They’re robot guards. Why would you need robot guards on a deserted planet?”

Yaz could guess. “Maybe to keep it deserted?”

The Doctor’s eyes widened and she nodded slowly, processing the answer that made so much sense now that it had been said. She began a slow walk backwards, gesturing for them to follow.

“Okay, well, good news is, they’re not fully active. So, what we all need to do is, very slowly, totally unthreateningly, back out of here.” They allowed her to guide them between the robots even as they gazed hesitantly at the guns in their hold.

They had only take a few steps when then heard a gunshot, promptly followed by the whir of the guards fully powering up and, as a result, bring their guns up as well.

The shooting started almost immediately and they were quick to start running, even before the frantic “run!” from the Doctor.

Yaz wasn’t sure how they weren’t hit at first. She guesses they were just really lucky right then, but she allowed everyone else to run in front of her, allowed her power to flow out of her as she hoped the boys wouldn’t look back.

She felt the power behind her come to form a sort of barrier and looked back to see it shimmering a dark purple, although it sparked slightly each time it was hit. Yaz looked back in front of her and was glad to see the boys still facing forward, likely focusing on where they were placing their feet.

Her gaze came to land on the Doctor, who was running just behind Graham and Ryan. The woman’s gaze turned to her, probably checking to make sure she was still there, and her eyes widened at the sight of one Yasmin Khan, running with a wall of power protecting them from the blasts still coming towards them.

Yaz just gestured forwards with her head, too breathless from running and using her powers to speak but wanting the blonde to watch where she was putting her feet, because she was sure she wouldn’t be able to help her in time if she fell.

“Over here!” She heard Ryan yell, and saw him pointing towards a hole that led into a building, although it was slightly buried under all the sand. Once Yaz saw it, she allowed her powers to fall and pushed the final few strides to dive through after the Doctor, going into a graceful roll and ending up looking like she was just taking a knee.

The others weren’t so graceful, she could tell as Ryan was sprawled out on the ground next to Graham who was flat on his back. The Doctor was slightly better as she came to a similar position to Yaz, although she was on both her knees.

Yaz allowed herself to lean an elbow on her raised knee, her head coming to rest on her palm as she took deep breaths to try and even out her breathing.

“How’d you do that Yaz?” Ryan asked, looking over at her in surprise.

Yaz’s eyes widened. “Do what?” She panted, looking over at him.

“Land like that.” He clarified, gesturing at where she was still in the position she’d landed in.

“Oh.” She laughed, relieved. “I dunno. Police training, I guess?”

The others laughed as well as they began to stand up and she allowed herself to truly breath, eyes falling on the Doctor who had landed just to her left. Yaz could still register surprise in the blonde’s gaze and she just smiled, shrugging her shoulders slightly, chuckling as the Doctor just shook her head with a quick exhale before standing up and brushing herself off.

“Well done, all of you. Nice running.” The blonde walked deeper into the room they had ended up in and it allowed Yaz to get a better look.

It was a long room, she thought, and there were pillars placed throughout the room. It was seemingly random but something seemed off. No sooner had she thought it than there was a sudden _creak!_ and something flew up from the floor, startling the Doctor into letting off a loud shriek with Ryan and Graham not far behind.

Yaz herself jumped, although she managed to keep herself quiet much to her relief. As she looked closer she realized they had been startled by a target, like the ones at the shooting range by her precinct. 

“Oh. Okay, come on.” The Doctor moved past it, but Yaz could feel her own anxiety rising.

“Oh! What have we here?” The Doctor noticed something lying on the ground in front of them and ran over to kneel next to it, pulling out her sonic. Yaz wasn’t far behind and looked down at what the Doctor was scanning.

It was one of the robot guards, just smashed and obviously not working anymore. Yaz watched as the Doctor squinted at the readings on her sonic and waited for her to explain. “Got anything there?”

“Information.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, that’s bad. They’re sniper bots.” Yaz shared a look with Ryan and Graham as they came to stand behind her and saw her own stress reflected in their panicked gazes. Yaz looked back at the Doctor, realization washing over her. “And we’ve just walked right into their shooting range.” She said as the pieces came together. The room, the targets, the pillars.

“Everything within the perimeter is target practice.” The Doctor said, looking around.

“Which would explain all the targets in here.” Graham gestured around at said targets. “And looking at the negative side, they’re human shaped targets.”

Yaz watched as Ryan got a strange look on his face and stepped forward. “If that’s the way it is, it’s time to stop messing about.” He picked up the gun laying next to the downed sniper bot. Yaz immediately stepped forward, intending to stop him but the Doctor beat her to it.

“Woah! What are you doing?”

“Fighting back!” The Doctor immediately started shaking her head, and Yaz had to agree with her.

“No.” She said immediately. “Guns, never use them.”

“They’re shooting at us!” Ryan said as though that would convince the Doctor to change her mind.

“I know.” She said, gazing back at him steadily.

“They’re gonna kill us with their guns!” He continued and ended up being backed up by Graham. “He’s got a point there, Doc.”

Yaz shook her head as well, although she could tell by Ryan’s demeanor that there would be no stopping him. Apparently the Doctor could also tell, Yaz noted as she tried to talk to him once more.

“Put the gun down, Ryan.” She pleaded.

He shook his head. “What’s your better idea?” He asked, although Yaz got the feeling he didn’t particularly care and was thinking that nothing would change his mind.

“Outthink them.”

“You can’t outthink bullets,” Graham cut in again.

“Been doing it all my life.”

Ryan shook his head again in response. “Uh-uh. Sorry. Call of Duty, man. I’ve trained for this.” He seemed confident, and probably actually was confident, but Yaz just ran a hand down her face. She watched as he ran out, guns blazing and crying out, and just waited.

It was only a few moments before he came diving back in, although luckily more gracefully than the first time he had done it, as he managed to stay on his feet this time. He still had the gun in his hand and he was panting hard but his expression was sheepish.

Yaz rolled her eyes and watched at the Doctor walked up to him. “Made it worse?”

“Just a little bit, yeah.” Ryan put the gun down, eyes wide.

“See why I don’t like guns?” The boy glared at her.

“Don’t go on about it!”

“I will go on about it!” She yelled, exasperated, and Yaz couldn’t blame her. “A lot!”

The Doctor had just finished speaking when Yaz heard it. The sound of a gun powering up and sure enough, when she looked up the first thing she saw was the barrel of a gun, pointing slightly to her right at Ryan.

She acted fast, quickly pushed Ryan out of the way of the blast and pulled him with her to hide behind one of the columns. She allowed his back to rest against it as she stood in front of him, checking to make sure Graham and the Doctor had managed to get safe.

Yaz could see the Doctor with her back to her own column and watched her as she dug through something in her lap. The vest from the sniper bot, Yaz thought.

“You realize we’re completely surrounded?” Yaz heard Graham say, although she couldn’t see him from her spot in front of Ryan.

“Yup!” The Doctor’s voice was much too cheery for the circumstances.

“With no way out whatsoever?”

“Let this be a lesson.” She pulled something out of the sniper bot vest and gripped it. A detonator, Yaz could tell. “The answer was on the floor, you just reached for the wrong thing!”

“What are you talking about?” Graham yelped as another blast hit his column.

“That’s the thing about robots! They’re powerful, literally packed with power.” She flinched as a bolt hit her own pillar. “Superpowered.”

It was the last thing the Doctor said before she pressed the button on the detonator and Yaz could feel the wave of power that was released. Strong enough for her to feel the vibrations in her teeth.

After that it only took a few seconds to realize that the shooting had stopped, and they all came out from hiding to stand in front of the Doctor.

Yaz felt a gentle bump to her shoulder and looked over to find Ryan looking at her. “Thanks for pushing me out of the way of that blast, Yaz. Probably would’ve hit me if you hadn’t.” He shrugged slightly.

“Don’t mention it.” Yaz replied with a smile, feeling the eyes of Graham and the Doctor on them. “Just be careful, alright?” Ryan just nodded and they turned their attention back to the matter at hand.

“Alright, Doc. That was pretty impressive.” Graham gestured to the fallen sniper bots scattered around the room. Yaz could see Ryan nodding in agreement out of the corner of her eye.

“Thank you, I aim to please.” Yaz rolled her eyes at the Doctor’s ego.

“So, what exactly did you just do?” Yaz asked, ever the curious one.

“Electromagnetic pulse. Basically fried their systems. Reckon we’ve got about five minutes before they reboot and recover.” She explained, turning to Ryan. “See? Brains beat bullets.”

The blonde walked away towards the door that led into the rest of the ruins and gestured for them to follow.

They entered a short hallway that split off into three sections. The Doctor looked around for a moment before making a decision. “Let’s try through here.” She walked through the opening to their right, each of them following close behind.

Yaz saw it first, reached out and grabbed the Doctor’s sleeve and pulled her back slightly, causing her to look forward and pause as well. The boys came to their own stop slightly behind them.

In front of them was none other than Epzo pointing his blaster at them, Angstrom stood slightly behind him. He lowered it almost immediately, to Yaz’s relief and she allowed her grip on the Doctor to fall.

The blonde started walking again immediately, pulling her sonic out of her coat pocket.

“What just happened?” Epzo asked, and Yaz assumed he was referring to the downed sniper bots. She did notice him gripping his shoulder, and figured he was injured at some point.

“What do you care? You don’t care about anything.” The Doctor just pushed past him, leaving him to catch up as she began walking next to Angstrom, taking her route tracker from where it sat loosely in her grasp.

“How’d you do that?” Yaz heard Angstrom ask the blonde from where she walked on her opposite side.

The Doctor answered as straightforward as ever. “Did I not mention? I am really smart.” Her attention focused back on the tracker in her hands as she kept walking down the hallway.

Yaz couldn’t see much as she looked around. There really wasn’t much for her to see, anyway. The walls were brick and there were windows placed high in the wall every few feet. It served to remind them that there wasn’t much daylight left.

“Thank you.” Angstrom said sincerely.

“You’re very welcome.” The Doctor pressed something on the tracker and took a sharp right into another hallway. “Amazing what you can learn from a sniper bot, like where their control commands emanate from. And also, maps. Which leads us…” She took one more turn. “Here.”

As they enter the room the first, and only, thing they see is a hatchway that looks to them like it leads to an underground tunnel. The Doctor is quick to pull out her sonic and, with a quick buzz, unlock the hatch and lift it open.

They all gather around the opening and look down. Yaz couldn’t see anything beyond a few feet down, and one look at the rest of the group showed that to be a common thought. The Doctor looked down the hatch and then looked back up.

“I want answers to this planet and I think they’re down there.” She nodded her head towards the opening.

“You sure about that?” Graham asked, obviously hesitant to crawl down a ladder into a dark hole in the ground.

“Nope!” The Doctor said once again in that voice that didn’t quite fit the situation.

“Come on!” The blonde was the first one to climb in, already starting her descent and leaving those still up top to share a look. “Who’s next?” Graham asked, still gazing at the hole unsure.

Yaz sighed, knowing both boys would be too frightened to go first and also not wanting the Doctor to be by herself down there too long. “I will.” She said, hurrying to climb in before she changed her mind.

She lifted herself into the opening, letting her feet come to rest on a rung quite a bit lower as her hands grip one of the ones at the top. With one last look at the boys, she began her climb into the dark.

The descent wasn’t more than a few minutes but she was glad when she felt the solid ground beneath her feet, and turned around to come face to face with the Doctor.

The blonde smiled. “I knew you’d come next.”

Yaz laughed at the statement. “How’d you know that?” She questioned with a smile.

“You’re much braver than them.” The Doctor answered, and Yaz’s smile widened.

It appeared that Ryan was the next one to climb in after her, probably pushed to by Graham, she thought. He was quickly followed by Angstrom, Graham, and then finally Epzo.

As they were still getting off the ladder, Yaz looked around at where they had gotten to. It was obviously a tunnel, and a dark tunnel at that. When she first got down there her eyes were definitely straining to make anything out, but a few minutes in she could already notice them adjusting to the darkness and she could begin really looking at their surroundings.

The walls were still brick, she saw, and they curved over them to join in an arch. As soon as the rest of them climbed down they began walking, and almost immediately the tunnel lit up, dull, fluorescent bulbs lighting up every few yards in front of them.

They didn’t stop, just continued walking down the tunnels. Yaz saw Epzo dig through his bag and come up with a flashlight, quickly turning it on and aiming it out in front of them for better visibility.

“How’s your injury?” The Doctor broke the silence, looking towards Epzo who was obviously still in pain.

“Painful,” he said, rolling his shoulder out with a wince.

“I hope it’s made you reconsider your entire philosophy.” Epzo just looked at her, still rubbing at his shoulder. “No,” he said simply.

“Doctor!” Everyone’s attention went to Graham where he was looking at the wall. Yaz came to stand next to him, looked at the same spot and realized what had shocked the man into yelling for the Doctor. “Scorch marks,” he said, pointing them out to everyone. “All along the walls.”

Yaz felt the Doctor come up next to her, their shoulders brushing. “Not exactly encouraging, is it?” She asked rhetorically. Graham answered anyway. “No.”

“Still,” the Doctor said. “Best feet forward.” She stepped away from the wall, continuing their trek through the tunnels.

Yaz made sure to stay in step with the Doctor as they made their way through the dully lit walkway. She didn’t like the feeling of the tunnels and wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

She felt the Doctor slow down next to her and heard her slow gasp. When she looked for the cause of it, she realized they had come upon a door. A very large, locked door, she thought. Not meant for snooping.

The Doctor didn’t seem to agree.

“Big locked door. I love a big locked door.” She moved closer to it, pulling her sonic out of her pocket as she spoke. It only took a wave of the sonic for them to hear the locks sliding open, allowing them to push the door open. “Ominous.”

Yaz followed the Doctor into the room, the others trailing behind as she looked around. It looked like they’d entered a lab of some sort. Her eyes grazed over the various vials and test tubes scattered throughout the room as well as the chairs that looked to be knocked over in front of the few lab tables she saw.

She locked onto another opening she saw on the other side of the room. “There’s another room next door,” she said, already walking towards it. Her eyes found Ryan’s. “We’ll take a look?” She questioned him, letting him know it would be okay if he didn’t want to come.

Luckily he nodded, following after her with a whispered, “okay.”

The room wasn’t big, she saw as she walked in, which made it easy to see the screen mounted on the far wall. It glowed a bright green and was separated into various bubbles.

A closer look showed it to be a sort of surveillance system and as Yaz’s eyes scanned it, her nerves rose. “Ryan, you see this?”

She felt him come up behind her, but didn’t let her eyes move from the screen. “Surveillance footage. And look,” she pointed at a particular screen that showed the entrance to the very tunnel they were creeping around in surrounded by close to half a dozen sniper bots. “They found the hatch.”

“Come on,” Yaz said, already stepping back towards the door. “We need to find the Doctor.”

In Yaz’s sprint she nearly slammed into the Doctor when she finally found her, but she managed to keep her footing even as she was talking. “Doctor! The sniper bots are on their way down after us!” The Doctor gripped her shoulders, shoving her behind her and causing Yaz’s voice to cut off as she caught sight of Epzo suffocating in front of them, with what looked like strips of cloth winding around his neck and over his mouth.

Angstrom was quick to draw her pocket knife out and hurried to cut the strands so they let go.

“We need to get out of here!” The Doctor yelled frantically, pushing Yaz out the door and following behind her, everyone else close behind.

The shooting started as soon as they were back in the hallway and Yaz knew the sniper bots were likely waiting for them to come out. They sprinted down the hallway, blasts ricocheting off the walls and just narrowly missing them. Yaz allowed herself to fall behind again and was quick to pull her shield up once more.

She could feel herself quickly tiring out and was glad when they ran through another opening in the tunnels which luckily had doors that, once the Doctor fell back as well, quickly shut, allowing Yaz to drop her shield and just focus on running and keeping up with the others.

Many closed doors later they came upon another ladder that was sure to take them back to the surface, but they all hesitated in climbing. And over their panting, they all heard the sound of something powering down and Yaz saw the Doctor shut her eyes briefly.

“Listen, they’ve shut down the life support systems. Depriving us of air,” she said. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“It’s night!” Graham pointed out, still leaning forward heavily with his hands on his knees.

“The tracker says this exit ladder will take us up and onto the surface.” Angstrom held the tracker in her hands, coming to stand closer to the ladder.

“What’s up there?” Yaz asked.

“Acetylene fields.” Was the answer, although Angstrom looked confused as she said it.

“Acetylene?” Ryan asked. “Like the gas?”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Graham was finally upright again after catching his breath.

“We’re running out of air and options, so let’s go up.” The Doctor decided, and Yaz agreed that there wouldn’t be any better options. She watched as the Doctor gently pushed Graham forward, silently telling him that he should go first.

He walked over to the ladder and took hold of the rungs above it head. Yaz heard his deep breath before he began climbing up, leaving them to decide who would go next. Ryan stepped forward, gazing up the ladder with his nerves clear on his face.

“You okay?” The Doctor asked him, sensing his hesitation.

He looked back at her. “It’s not my favorite thing, climbing ladders under pressure,” he explained.

“Can I just say, you are amazing.” The Doctor said, and Yaz knew she was trying to help Ryan get his courage up. She smiled slightly.

“Am I?” He asked, doubtful.

“Think of what you’ve gone through to be here, and you’re still going. I’m very impressed.”

“Thanks.” He still hesitated, and Yaz could tell the others were getting impatient, so she was glad when the Doctor encouraged him again.

“If it helps, focus on facts about acetylene as you climb. Did you cover it in your NVQ?” He nodded. “We might’ve done, yeah.”

“Gotta be quick now, Ryan,” She pushed once more. “Sorry.”

Ryan took one more deep breath, gathered all his courage, and gripped the ladder. Yaz watched in relief as he took his first step, and then another, and another. She smiled up at him, proud.

The Doctor’s gaze moved to her and Yaz nodded, quickly pulling herself up the ladder, realizing they had to be quick.

The climb back up was another few minutes and it was done in relative silence, only the sound of panting and the occasional grunt breaking it.

When they got to the top and outside, the first thing Yaz noticed was the smell. She was pretty sure that was the first thing everyone noticed, as it really was quite a smell. She nearly plugged her nose but resisted, curling her hands at her sides.

Ryan didn’t seem to have her restraint, as he placed his hand over his mouth and nose almost as soon as he stepped outside. “That’s some smell.” He said, muffled through his hand.

“What is that, garlic?” Graham asked, and Yaz could see his face scrunched up slightly in displeasure.

“Wait. Everyone stop.” Everyone paused, looked at Ryan, who was looking at the ground. “It looks like the ground’s moving.” Sure enough, the ground _was_ moving. Most importantly, moving _towards_ them.

Upon closer inspection Yaz realized they looked exactly like the cloth she remembered was wrapped around Epzo’s neck, and they were flowing towards them. She cringed when her head started buzzing, almost like it had when she’d first met the Doctor but much more unpleasant.

The strands of cloth came to surround them, buzzing around them like bees in the night. Yaz could hear them whispering and strained to hear what they said through the buzzing in her own head.

 _“Finally, a big feast of minds.”_ She heard from one of the ribbons flowing around them and felt the fear rising within her.

“Nobody move.” She heard the Doctor say and looked towards her to find her staring one down.

“Don’t let them touch you, they’ll squeeze the life out of you.” Epzo’s warning came through the whispers and Yaz’s head whipped around.

 _“Yes.”_ One whispered again. _“Squeeze the life out of all of you.”_

“The talk is to distract you.” The Doctor said, turning and making eye contact with each of them. “That’s how they were designed in that laboratory.” The blonde came face to face with another.

 _“You can’t save them.”_ It spoke to the blonde. _“We see your fear, too. The strongest of all.”_

“You want fears? I’ve got a dozen lifetimes worth.” The Doctor challenged them, although it only seemed to amuse them.

_“A dozen lives? We’ll take you first.”_

“Remember any facts, Ryan? During your climb?” Ryan looked at her, started to shake his head, and then hesitated.

“It’s lighter than air.”

“Yes.” The Doctor confirmed. “Smells like garlic, and lighter than air. And there’s one more thing about acetylene, but we’re all going to have to _dig deep_ for that, won’t we?” She emphasized those two words and Yaz saw her begin to dig her feet into the ground, shoving dirt out of the way.

“What are you doing?” Epzo asked, clueless but digging anyway when a whispered “shut up and _dig,_ Epzo,” was sent his way.

 _“You lead, but you’re scared, too. For yourself and for others.”_ One of the strips of cloth come to hover in front of the Doctor once more.

“Yeah, well, who isn’t?”

_“You want to protect them, but they are weak. It would take nothing for us to invade their minds. Their fears so obvious.”_

Then something happened. The strands hovered around the rest of the group, poking at them and chuckling when they fought back.

Yaz felt one slide along her arm and flinched back, looking up to see one floating just feet in front of her face. Her feet stopped moving.

 _“Strange…”_ She heard whispered around her. _“This one isn’t like the others. Not even the clever one.”_ Yaz knew the latter statement was about the Doctor.

Yaz inhaled sharply and could feel the gazes of the others on her back.

“Get away from her.” Yaz heard the Doctor say, but she didn’t move her eyes from where they were locked on the cloth hovering in front of her.

 _“She is blocked from us. Her power is great.”_ The whispers continued, although now they were more intrigued.

 _“Greater than yours… Timeless Child.”_ The Doctor froze, staring down one of the remnants floating around her.

“What did you just say?” The Doctor asked. Yaz sighed, although she could still feel the others watching her. She didn’t turn back. Just looked back at her feet and began digging again, relieved when the others did the same, a bit hesitantly she noticed.

 _“She doesn’t know.”_ They chuckled, obviously amused at the Doctor’s ignorance.

“What are you talking about?” The Doctor’s eyes narrowed. “What can you see?”

_“We see what’s hidden. Even from yourself. The outcast, abandoned and unknown.”_

Her jaw clenched, and she stepped forward threateningly. “Get out of my head.” She warned, her gaze not faltering once. It didn’t matter though, as the remnants seemed to be satisfied with the reaction.

 _“Now, we crush those fears from you.”_ They all flinched back as the pieces of cloth seemed to dive for them, winding around them but not quite getting a grip.

“Enjoy your feast. Whatever it is.” The Doctor said before moving her gaze over to where Epzo and Graham were still stood digging into the ground. “Cuz, you know what people like after a feast?”

“Graham!” She snapped, grabbing his attention. “Huh?”

“Not me, but…” He looked over at her before following her gaze to the man standing next to him. Specifically, to his pocket, and understanding washed over his face. He reached over and pulled something out of Epzo’s pocket. A cigar, Yaz could see.

“Oh yeah.” He paused, making sure the Doctor was ready. “A nice cigar.” And he threw it into the air.

The next thing Yaz heard was a screamed “down!” and the sound of multiple bodies hitting the ground along with her own. She made sure her back was flat against the ground and her head was turned so her cheek was against the sand when there was single snap of the fingers, and the air went up in flames.

“Third fact. Ignites very easily.” Everyone’s brain went back to the earlier conversation and they chuckled. “Good ol’ acetylene. See?” She looked towards Epzo under the flames above them. “Team work.”

Yaz watched as the Doctor maneuvered herself onto her front. “Now move. Come on.” And she began army crawling her way out, leaving the others to follow behind her slowly.

By the time they were finally out of the fields, the suns were beginning to come up, with the horizon just starting to turn from purple into orange. They all stood up, each of them stretching in various ways to try and rid themselves of the kinks in their muscles.

After that, they continued their walk through the desert. It was hours later when Yaz looked up from where she’d been staring down at her feet to see a familiar sight. One she remembered seeing in the tent at the beginning of the whole adventure.

As they climbed up the final pathway, the were met with the sight of the tent they all remembered from the start, and stopped some yards away from it.

“There. Your finish line.” The Doctor said, looking towards the white tent a ways in front of them.

Epzo let out a relieved sigh. “We made it.” He almost sounded like he didn’t believe his own words.

“Where’s your ship?” Ryan asked, looking around for the police box they’d all seen via hologram the day before.

The Doctor looked around as well, already shaking her head. “It’s not here.” She climbed the rest of the way coming to stand fully at the top. “I don’t understand. It should be here. We did all this for nothing.” She sighed.

“At least you got here.” She looked towards Angstrom and Epzo, the former of the two already a few steps ahead.

“And now I’m going to claim my prize.”

“What?” Epzo looked at her. “Your prize?”

“I saved your life. You wouldn’t be alive without me.” She explained before laughing. “And if I raced you right now to that tent, you’d be dust. You’re a wreck, Epzo!”

Yaz could tell Epzo knew she was right, but it didn’t stop him from trying to fight her on it. “Who had the cigar, eh?” He looked between Angstrom and the Doctor, as if she was the one he was racing. “Me. It was mine. The cigar saved us all.”

Angstrom laughed again. “Seriously?” It almost sounded like a wheeze. “Don’t even think I’m going to lose to you now.”

Having been watching the whole exchange, the Doctor finally stepped forward. “Eh, can I make a suggestion?”

The two competitors looked at her, eyes narrowed. “What is it?” Epzo asked.

“Dual winners. With us as your witnesses.”

Epzo scoffed. “We’ll never get away with that.” He shook his head at her.

“I can be very persuasive.” Angstrom and him shared a look.

“No!” The Doctor yelled as the tent disappeared from around them once again, leaving them once again stranded.

It was quiet for a moment.

“They’re gone?” Ryan asked, although Yaz knew he already knew the answer.

“We’re stuck here, are we?” Graham knew that answer already, too.

The Doctor’s gaze finally locked with theirs and Yaz almost flinched from the wave of guilt that crashed into her. She watched at the blonde woman nodded, her eyes falling to the ground at her feet.

“I’m sorry. I’ve failed you.” She looked on the verge of tears as she looked out at the mountains around them. “I’ve let you down.”

Another wave of guilt flowed through Yaz, and this time she couldn’t help the release of air through her nose. Yaz knew the Doctor noticed, as another, smaller surge of guilt hit her. She just smiled, shrugging slightly.

“We can wait. Can’t we?” Ryan broke through the exchange with optimism, garnering agreement from Graham and Yaz, but the Doctor shut them down almost immediately.

“No, we’ll be dead within one rotation.”

Yaz sighed as the silence filled the air once more, the tension rising.

Then, she heard a noise. Yaz’s gaze locked with the Doctor’s, confusion evident in her eyes. “Can you hear that noise?” She asked, looking at the other two to see their reactions.

The Doctor seemed to recognize the noise as she turned to look out at the cliff where her ship was supposed to have landed, hope filling her expression.

“Come on.” Yaz heard her whisper. “Please. Give us this.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her sonic, aiming it towards the cliff.

Yaz looked that way too and had to do a double take when she saw it. There, fading in and out of her vision, she could see a blue police box and, judging by the boy’s twin gasps, they saw the same. She watched as the Doctor ran towards it, still waving her sonic through the air and stringing together meaningless sentences to try and coax it out.

The sigh of relief when the police box completely solidified was great, and Yaz felt it through her whole body, the happiness radiating from the woman in front of her and she pressed her palms flat against the front of it.

“Hello, you. I’ve missed you.”

Yaz watched as she spoke to the box almost reverently. As she lifted her hands slightly and shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. “I’ve lost my key. Sorry.” She apologized, and Yaz was shocked with the door creaked open just slightly.

The Doctor sighed in relief before she looked back at her friends, her hands still hovering over her ship.

“But it’s an old police box.” Graham said, his hands held out in front of him in disbelief.

“Sort of. Not really.”

“You expect us all to fit inside there?” Ryan asked, apprehension clear in his voice. She just looked over at them, a happiness Yaz hadn’t yet seen settled on her face as she shrugged.

“Wanna try?”

She looked at Yaz first, only stepping inside once Yaz nodded, a small smile on her face.

After the Doctor stepped inside, Yaz was quick to follow as she ignored Graham and Ryan grumbling about police boxes and not fitting inside. As soon as she stepped inside Yaz’s eyes went wide.

It was definitely bigger on the inside.

“Wow…” She whispered, not quite picking up on the Doctor’s smug smile at her reaction.

“This is my TARDIS.” The blonde held her arms out as if presenting something to them, which Yaz supposes she kind of was. The room was large and the woman was standing on a platform near a center console, wrapped around a crystal that glowed a bright orange. The platform itself was surrounded by more of those glowing crystals, but these ones moved, almost as if they were breathing.

“But it was a police box.” Graham repeated his words from minutes before, gazing around the room in disbelief.

“It still is on the outside.”

“How did you fit all this stuff inside of a police box?”

“Dimensional engineering.” The Doctor replied reverently.

“You can engineer dimensions?” Yaz looked at the Doctor wide-eyed.

Yaz watched as Ryan took a step forward towards the center console, already reaching a finger out. “Can I touch-”

“No.” The Doctor immediately denied him, quickly pushing his finger out of the way and holding her own out in a scolding manner.

Graham looked over from where he had been processing. “It’s a spaceship.”

The Doctor’s smile grew. “And a time ship.”

“Get out.” Ryan’s eyes were wide in disbelief.

“Seriously.” The Doctor nodded enthusiastically, and Yaz could tell she was just glad to be sharing this with someone.

“This is proper awesome.”

“I thought maybe you didn’t believe me that I’d get you home.” The Doctor said, feigning offense at the thought.

Yaz rolled her eyes in response. “I thought you didn’t believe yourself for a second back there.”

“Who, me?” The Doctor scrunched her nose. “No, never doubted. Don’t know what you mean. Home then?”

“You mean, you can get us there?” Yaz asked.

“Start believing.” The blonde ran to the console, already flipping switches and turning dials before bringing her hand to lay over a lever. She shared a look with Yaz, smiling briefly before pulling the lever down.


	6. Montgomery, Alabama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversations. Conversations and strange artron readings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! A short chapter that I was wanting to get out.   
> Not that short, I suppose. About 5,000 words. Please comment! I love hearing what you think! 
> 
> Bre

Yaz could feel Graham and Ryan’s gazes burning into her from where she stood near the console watching the Doctor skip around it and pull various levers. There had been multiple attempts to get them home, but none of them had turned out to be successful, each of them taking turns peeking out the front door of the TARDIS to check if they’d arrived home but losing a little hope each time.

Yaz was waiting for one of the boys to ask her about what the strange cloth creatures had said to her and about her. They obviously wanted to if their locked gazes were anything to go by.

That brought them to the current moment, where Yaz was purposely not looking at the two boys while knowing they were looking right at her.

The treatment had been going on for hours and Yaz was moments away from breaking her silence. She looked at the Doctor who looked back at her when she saw her head move. Yaz couldn’t tell if the blonde woman was aware of the tension, but from the small smile on her face and the shrug of her shoulders, Yaz was assuming she at least had some idea.

Yaz sighed and finally turned to face them. “Just say what you want to say.” She said, crossing her arms a bit defensively in front of her.

The boys looked shocked at the break in the silence, probably because of the amount of time it had taken for it to be broken in the first place. She sighed again and sat down on the platform, allowing her back to lean against one of the columns around it’s perimeter.

She gestured with her head for them to come sit by her and was glad when they did, with Ryan coming to sit against another column to her right and Graham placing himself on the steps that led to where Yaz was positioned. She looked up and caught the Doctor’s eye, saw her raise an eyebrow in an obvious question. ‘ _Do you want me over there?’_ It asked, even without the connection the two had formed with each other.

Yaz nodded in relief, glad when the Doctor finally abandoned the console in favor of the conversation she knew was about to happen. She watched the blonde woman drop down into the ground in front of her, her legs crossed in front of her and her hands folded in her lap.

Yaz allowed her gaze to move to Graham, and then to Ryan, looking at each of them for just a few seconds before she finally paused on the latter. She realized they probably weren’t going to start the conversation. Most likely didn’t even know what to say, or even what they were talking about in the first place.

So, she just told them.

“I have powers. Obviously,” She started, holding her hands out in front of her slightly. “They run in my family, and it seems that the oldest child in each generation receives these powers. It usually starts between the ages of 18 and 19, but, and I’m not sure why, mine came in late. I’ve only have them for a few months.”

Looking around her, Yaz could tell they didn’t quite believe her. Probably wouldn’t believe her until they saw it themselves, and she thought maybe she should stop, but she looked at the Doctor, saw her encouraging smile, and took another deep breath. “One of my powers is telepathy, which is probably what those creatures back on Desolation realized when they tried to look in my head. I guess my telepathy kept them out and that’s why they singled me out. Why they said I was different.”

Yaz was looking into her lap as she finished, fiddling with the ring she always wore on her pointer finger.

“That’s…” She looked up and saw Ryan squinting in disbelief, and she couldn’t blame him.

“You’re not joking?” Graham asked, his own disbelief clear in his expression. Yaz just shook her head. No, she most definitely was not joking.

He chuckled a little, but Yaz knew it was entirely out of shock, or even mistrust at what she had told him. “I’m going to have to ask her to prove that, Yaz. Humans don’t just have telepathy. And you said there are others? I don’t know, Yaz.”

Yaz looked towards the Doctor, pleaded with her to say something. She did. “She’s being honest, Graham. I’ve seen it. Well, felt it, I suppose. You know, I’m telepathic as well? Although mine’s a bit different than-” She rambled, obviously not sure what she was supposed to say, but it was enough as Graham looked back at Yaz.

“So, powers.” He said, although he still didn’t quite believe her. “Can you… show us, maybe?” The man asked, unsure about what he was asking.

Yaz thought about it for a moment. Might as well, she supposed, and she nodded. She held her right hand out in front of her and watched as the others leaned forward in expectation. Taking a deep breath, she allowed her powers to flow through her body and settle at the surface of her skin.

She made eye contact with the Doctor, received one last push of encouragement in the form of a nod and brought her left hand to hover over the other. She quickly snapped her fingers and, quicker than anyone could see, sparked a flame that came to settle in her cupped right hand.

Yaz allowed herself to focus on it, and watched as it snaked up her bare arm just to her elbow before flowing back down to settle against her wrist in the form of a thin bracelet, although the flames from it still licked at her skin.

Yaz finally let herself look up to see the reactions of her friends. One look at the Doctor showed her to be slightly in awe, her jaw dropped ever so slightly and a smile starting to form on her face. “Brilliant.” Yaz heard the whisper, and allowed a smile to form on her own face before she faced the boys, eyes flicking between each of them.

They both had looks of a sort of dazed confusion on their faces, so she just waited until they were ready to ask questions, and she knew they would definitely have questions. She just hoped she could answer them.

Surprisingly, it was Ryan to snap out of it first, as his eyes finally moved from the purple mist still wrapped around her wrist to look at her fully, surprise clear in his face.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner? It might’ve been useful.” He didn’t look angry, she decided, just curious. Curiosity she was fine with.

“My mum told me never to tell anyone. Was worried I’d be taken away, and I really can’t blame her. I shouldn’t even have told you now, but I figure you’d have figured it out eventually. We seem to be finding ourselves in increasingly dangerous situations and I want to be able to do what I can and not worry about somebody coming to get me and experiment on me.”

She looked at them warily. “You’re not going to turn me in, right?”

“No!” Ryan exclaimed. “Of course not, Yaz. I wouldn’t do that. You can trust me.” She watched as he nudged Graham, who finally snapped out of it. “You can trust us.” Yaz looked as Graham as well, awaiting his response.

“Yaz,” He looked at her seriously. “I swear I would never tell anybody about this if you didn’t want me to.”

Yaz finally let out a great sigh of relief. She hadn’t realized how much stress it had been causing her to keep it a secret, and she finally allowed a smile to grow on her face as she looked between the three sitting in front of her, happy to see the proud smile on the Doctor’s own face. She looked over to the boys again.

“So, did you want to ask me any questions? I’d love to answer them.”

Ryan asked first, leaning forward. “You said you had other powers. What are they?”

The others sat up at that question, likely curious about the answer as well. Yaz let out a quick exhale. She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation.

Regardless, “The first to come in was my telekinesis. I trashed my room because my mum didn’t tell me about it until it was done. Said she didn’t think they were going to come in at all.” They all looked at her, interest clear in their expressions as they nodded for her to continue.

“After that is the telepathy, which I already told you about. And then speed which was followed pretty closely by energy manipulation.”

They looked at her, eyes wide. Even the Doctor who, although she had known she had powers, had no idea of the extent of them.

“Wait, so…” Graham blinks slowly at her, trying to get his thoughts in order. “You’re telepathic. Does that mean you can read our minds?” That caused Ryan to look over at her as well as if he was just realizing that was a possibility.

Yaz was quick to answer. “No, no. Well, yes, but I don’t. Not without permission that is. I learned to control it rather quickly for that exact reason. It’s not pleasant being in everyone’s head all the time anyway.”

The boys sighed in relief, while the Doctor leaned towards her. “You said speed. What does that mean?”

A ghost of a smile formed on Yaz’s face at the very same question she had asked her mother all those months ago. “Yeah so, to you it looks like super speed but when I use it, it feels more like slowing things down.”

“Huh.” The Doctor hummed. “That’s well cool. And the energy manipulation? Is that what you did in the ruins on Desolation? And in the tunnels as well?”

The boys looked between them, confused. “What did you do in the ruins?” Graham asked.

“It was nothing really. Just a sort of shield between us and the sniper bots when they were shooting at us.”

They looked at her, realization dawning on their faces as they thought back to the circumstances the Doctor had brought up. “That’s why you always stayed behind us. I didn’t even think to look back.” Graham said, followed by Ryan’s, “I thought it was weird none of us were hit.”

“Anything else?” Yaz was drained. Tired from the intense conversation. The Doctor obviously noticed as Yaz saw her share a look with Graham and Ryan and shake her head slightly. They nodded in agreement and looked back at her. Ryan placed a comforting hand on her knee.

“Nah, Yaz. Thanks for telling us though, mate. You can trust us.” Yaz was relieved, and gave them all a grateful smile, glad for their acceptance of her.

“Thanks guys.” She looked at the Doctor, who smiled back at her before pushing herself up from the ground and going back to the console, already pushing the necessary buttons for another attempt to get them home.

The TARDIS shook and shuddered and Yaz was glad she was sitting down, because she would have been unprepared for the sudden lurch of the ship landing. She was sure it would have knocked her to the ground.

She watched as the Doctor sprinted over to the doors and open them slightly, peaking her head out. Nobody was surprised by the following groan and the sound of the doors snapping shut. Yaz watched as the Doctor stepped back onto the platform and shook her head at them, an apologetic look on her face.

They just sighed and smiled back, content for the moment to wait for the proper result.

* * *

Their patience was running out when, close to an hour later, they _still_ hadn’t gotten home. They had just landed at their current attempt and watched as the Doctor went to open the TARDIS doors, already looking out.

“Sheffield?” Yaz asked, both hopeful and hopeless. Her face dropped when she heard the muffled, “Nearly!” From the blonde woman looking out at where they had landed. Yaz watched the Doctor turn back towards them and come to stand in front of them. She heard Graham sigh.

“Not Sheffield, then?” He said more than asked.

“Almost. Really close.” That wasn’t reassuring at all, and the three humans shared an exasperated look as she hurried back to the console. “You’re doing this deliberately, aren’t you?” It looked like she was talking to… the ship?

“Who are you talking to?” Yaz asked, eyes narrowed as she looked at the woman leaning over the controls threateningly.

“If it’s me I haven’t touched anything.” Ryan defended himself.

“I’m talking to the TARDIS. She’s telepathic.” She looked over at Yaz. “In fact, you should be able to feel it, Yaz.”

Now that she said something, Yaz _did_ notice a strange buzzing at the edge of her subconscious, not dissimilar to the one she remembered feeling when she first met the Doctor.

“The ship is telepathic?” Graham asked, although he obviously didn’t believe it.

“She’s right.” Yaz said, still listening to the sound in her head. “I can feel it. Like a buzzing in my brain.” The Doctor nodded, informing her that was normal.

“I’ve never met a human able to feel her. This is exciting. Isn’t it?” She asked the ship again. This time Yaz got the strange feeling that the ship was agreeing with the Doctor.

“So, where are we, actually?” Graham asked, getting them back to the topic at hand. The Doctor turned back to the console, squinting her eyes at one of the screens.

“Earth. United States.” She leaned in a bit closer. “1955, Montgomery, Alabama. If I’m reading this properly. New displays.”

“1955?! Elvis, could we see Elvis?” Yaz blinked at the sudden change in subject although the tone of voice didn’t change at all. The Doctor seemed to consider it. “I think he’s in New York this week. I could give him a call.” She said, hands on her waist.

“You haven’t got Elvis’ phone number.” Graham told her, refusing to believe the rather insane thought. The Doctor stepped closer to him, a serious look on her face. “Don’t ever tell anyone I leant him a mobile phone.”

Yaz opened her mouth to say something to that when suddenly she was cut off by an alarm, blaring through the air. The Doctor was quick to move back to the console, looking at a separate screen that was glowing an angry orange.

“Woah. What’s that? Traces of artron energy?”

“What’s artron energy?” Ryan asked, squinting at the screen as well although he couldn’t read it.

“It’s the same time of energy the TARDIS runs off.” She tilted her head, confused. “There really shouldn’t be traces of artron energy here, unless they’re ours. Which they’re not.”

Yaz sighed, knowing exactly where she was going with her rambling. “And now you want to go check it out?”

“Yeah. I should. Quick look.” The Doctor was already walking towards the front doors. “But quietly, history is very difficult. We stick together.”

Already Yaz could feel her excitement growing, even sharing an enthused smile with Ryan and Graham before hurrying to follow the Doctor out the door.

As they stepped outside Yaz saw that they were parked in an alley, just out of the way of any passerby and they were quick to walk out and onto the main street, joining the rest of the pedestrians and trying to look like they belonged there.

It wasn’t easy, considering none of them were exactly dressed like they fit in the 1950s. Especially the Doctor, Yaz thought as she looked at the woman in question walking slightly in front of her waving her sonic around in her especially eccentric trademark coat and rainbow shirt.

Yaz allowed herself to look around at their surroundings. “Real life 1955. Time travel’s awesome.” She said, looking back at the boys with a smile on her face before facing forward again.

She was just barely looking ahead again when she heard it. A loud _smack_ and, after she turned back around, the sight of Ryan holding the side of his face where he’d just been struck by an angry pale-skinned man. It was followed by an almost growl from him. “Get your filthy black hands off my wife.”

Yaz moved quickly felt the others running back alongside her and, as she watched Graham grab hold of Ryan to keep him from striking back, she put herself between the man and the rest of the group, forcefully pushing the Doctor out of the way as she did so.

“Please, sir. Take a step back.” Her voice was commanding, as she’d meant it to be, but she was still surprised when he actually took a full step back, coming to stand more even with his wife. Surprise flashed over his own face for a moment before it was replaced with anger once more as he stared Ryan down.

“You okay, Ryan?”

“I was just trying to give her back her glove back.” He replied, obviously angry as he threw the glove Yaz hadn’t noticed him holding to the ground at the man’s feet.

“This your boy?” The man looked towards the Doctor, ignoring Yaz completely but moving his attention to Graham when he spoke.

“He’s my grandson, actually.” Graham still had a grip on Ryan and was holding a hand out in front of him protectively.

Another wave of shock rolled through the man’s expression. “He’s your what?”

“My grandson.”

He took another step back. “You ain’t from around here.” He looked back at the Doctor.

“We don’t want any trouble.” Her voice was gentle as she tried to calm him down before things went any further. Yaz was still standing just in front of the rest of the group and his gaze skimmed over her.

“I don’t know how it’s like where you folks are from,” He began, and Yaz knew it was a threat from the tone of his voice. “Your boy, he’ll be swinging from a tree with a noose for a neckerchief if he touches a white woman in Montgomery-”

Ryan tried to get out of Graham’s grip and Yaz could feel his anger rising as he dove forward, Graham barely catching him again. “What did you say?”

“Is there a problem here, Mr. Still?” A new heavily southern voice cut in, and Yaz watched as a woman pushed through them, placing a hand on Ryan’s shoulder to stop his struggling as she spoke to them. “Step away now, go ahead, step away.” She said to them before turning to the man with a placating smile on her face.

They did as she said, moving back a few feet as they watched the woman speak to the man and his wife.

“These friends of yours?” He asked, glaring at them over her shoulder.

“No, sir. I was just on my lunch break and was wondering if I could help out with any _misunderstandings_?” She answered quickly, sending a meaningful look behind her before returning her focus to the man. “I believe your suit will be ready tomorrow. The alterations are going to make it just right, sir.”

The man just nodded, still glaring at the group a few feet behind the woman in front of him. He adjusted his had and turned to his wife. “Let’s go, Lizzie.” He said, not moving his eyes from Ryan, who Yaz elbowed when she saw him returning the look.

They all took a deep breath as he finally left, leaving them alone with the woman that saved them from what likely would have been a large confrontation.

She turned quickly. “Are you crazy?”

“He slapped me!” Ryan defended, stepping forward as Graham finally let him go.

“Didn’t you read the newspapers? You know what they did to young Emmett Till.”

“We’re from out of town.” The woman turned to the Doctor. “So was Emmett Till.”

“On vacation from the North. A couple of words to-” She sighed. “A white woman in Mississippi and next thing… they find his body in the river.”

Yaz could tell that was getting through to Ryan, as he finally allowed his gaze to fall. “You want that to be you?” The woman asked him.

“No, ma’am.” She turned to the rest of them.

“You all together?” Her eyes skimmed over them, lingering just a bit longer on Yaz before the Doctor called her attention to her.

“Yes. We’re very grateful, Miss…” She left the sentence open.

“Mrs.” The woman corrected. “Parks, Rosa Parks.”

Yaz’s eyes grew wide immediately and, before she could help it, “No, way!” Rosa looked at her in confusion, followed by Graham when his own thoughts slipped out, “You’re kidding.”

“Brilliant!” The Doctor exclaimed, drawing the attention to her. “Rosa Parks! Lovely to meet you, Rosa Parks, big fan.” And then, at the strange look that earned, “…of Montgomery. I am- We are just visiting. Recommend anything for tourists like us?” She questioned weakly.

Rosa shook her head at them. “I recommend you get yourselves the hell out of Alabama before you find yourselves in trouble you can’t get out of.” It was a warning, they all knew. Yaz watched as she walked away and the Doctor quickly moved, pulling her sonic out of her pocket and scanning the air Rosa had just vacated.

“Can you believe it?” Yaz asked. “Actual Rosa Parks.”

“Amazin’.” The Doctor replied, although she was obviously occupied with the results on her sonic. “Also, a problem. Registering traces of artron energy all around her. Why is that?” The looked up at them, gaze moving between each of them.

* * *

They ended up in a diner, by request of Graham and his stomach. The Doctor managed to find and newspaper and Yaz watched as she scanned through it.

“We were in Rosa Park’s class in primary.” She looked at Ryan. “Do you remember? All the year four, five, and six classes were named after inspirational people.”

“She’s the bus woman right?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You do remember what she did?” She asked, although she was fairly certain about the answer.

“Yeah.” He said, absolutely certain. “First black woman to ever drive a bus.”

Yaz sighed and shook her head. “No, Ryan!” She scolded him.

Graham groaned as well. “Your nan would have a fit right now. How could you have been in a class named after the woman and not know who she is?”

“She’s American!” He defended, even though he was obviously the only person at the table who had that problem.

Yaz had actually enjoyed history and was always interested in the history of other countries as well as her own. “She refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus to a white passenger, and got arrested for it. Her arrest started a boycott of the buses in Montgomery.”

“Or rather, will start.” The Doctor looked up from where she’d still been scanning the newspaper, pointing towards the top where the date was printed. “Today is Wednesday, November 30th, 1955. Tomorrow Rosa refuses to give up her seat.”

“And all this basically kicked off the U.S. Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King. See? I’m not totally ignorant. I just got confused by the whole bus thing.” Yaz rolled her eyes at Ryan’s attempt to excuse not knowing who Rosa parts was.

“Martin Luther King is a minister here in Montgomery right now.” The Doctor informed them.

“He and Rosa Parks knew each other?” Yaz found that interesting. She hadn’t known that before and allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts.

So busy was she, that she didn’t notice how quiet it was in the room until Graham pointed it out, looking around the room suspiciously. “Is it me, or has it gone quiet in here?” It wasn’t just them, Yaz knew, as there was complete silence around them in the diner.

That is, until another woman came up to them. White, of course. “We don’t serve Negro’s.” She said and, although it wasn’t an impolite tone, the look on her face said everything she hadn’t.

She really needed to talk to Ryan about controlling himself. Especially there, since they really didn’t need him getting in trouble there. He turned to the woman with a blank look on his face. “Good,” he said, “Because I don’t eat them.”

The woman’s mouth curled into a near snarl as she turned to Yaz as well. “Or Mexicans.”

 _Did she…_ Yaz’s eyebrows went up, and she kept her gaze locked on the Doctor across the table. She took a deep breath, careful to keep herself under control. “Is she talking to me?” She tried for nonchalant, but she knew the threat came through in the tone of her voice.

The Doctor was quick, taking the dismissal in her stride as she gestured for all of them to get up while doing the same. “Come on.”

As Yaz stood she allowed her gaze to fall on the woman kicking them out. Their eyes locked for a moment before she felt Graham’s hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to leave it be. She let him guide her away, waiting until the last minute to look away from the woman. Long enough for it to be threatening, she knew, but without being noticeable to anyone but the intended.

“Okay, listen.” The Doctor started as soon as they stepped out the doors and onto the sidewalk. “I can deal with this, you go back to the TARDIS and be safe.”

Yaz was already shaking her head before she got through the sentence. “While you do what?”

“Locate the source of these energy anomalies. We’re one day out of a tipping point in Earth history and I don’t want anything disrupting that. It’s easy for me here.” Her gaze fell on Yaz and Ryan. “It’s more dangerous for you. You can walk away from this.”

Yaz disagreed. As did Ryan apparently, “Rosa Parks can’t.”

“Rosa Parks doesn’t.” Yaz adds, already knowing she wasn’t going anywhere away from the Doctor.

“If she can live here her whole life, a couple hours ain’t gonna kill me.” Ryan glanced over at Graham for a moment before returning to the Doctor. “It ain’t gonna kill me, right?”

The Doctor shook her head. “Not if we look out for each other.” She pulled her sonic out of her coat, scanning around them once more as Ryan shrugged. “I’m cool with it.” He looked at Yaz and nudged her a bit to get her attention. “What do you reckon, Mexican lady?”

Yaz glared at him. “Oi. Keep that up, I’ll use you as a piñata.” She almost laughed at the expression on his face but managed to keep it in, looking back towards the Doctor who was squinting at whatever results she could see.

“Epicenter of the artron region is 1.2 miles that way.” She pointed across the intersection from where they were standing. “Come on.”

She was about to step forwards but Graham was quick to stop her. “Hey, wait. We will find somewhere else to eat though, won’t we?”

The Doctor scoffed and turned back around to face the road. “No time, Graham!” And she walked off, leaving them to follow her. Yaz watched Graham turn to them, exasperation on his face. “Have you noticed that happens a lot?” He spoke to them as they began following the Doctor across the street. “I need regular food, that’s all.”

“We got thrown out of a bar and that’s what you’re worried about?” Graham glared at Ryan for that statement and Yaz just laughed.

“Not sure your stomach’s compatible with time travel, Graham.” His glare turned to her but it just made her laugh louder.

She ignored the strange feeling she got that someone was watching them.


	7. Rosa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor doesn't like people named Krasko, find out why!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About 6,000 words here I believe! Keep leaving comments, I really enjoy reading what you all think! Enjoy the chapter!  
> Also, a small POV change in the middle ;)
> 
> Bre

“This is where the artron signals converge.” The Doctor still had most of her attention focused on her sonic in her hand even as they continued walking at the guidance of the tech.

“At the bus company?” Yaz looked around at the various buildings and buses that surrounded them. “All roads lead back to Rosa Parks.”

“Yeah.” The Doctor agreed. “Bit of a worry. Let’s have a look around.”

They ended up in front of a large door locked with several deadbolts, and the Doctor did mention that she loved big locked doors, so Yaz wasn’t surprised at all when the Doctor unlocked them with a wave of her sonic. They were all a bit wary as she ended up unlocking six of the padlocks in total.

“I’m not sure about this.” Graham said, looking over his shoulder as if he was worried someone would be watching them as they walked into the building. As far as Yaz could tell it was just an empty barn with only a few ladders and chairs scattered throughout, but nothing out of the ordinary.

“There’s nothing in here.” Ryan said, looking around in disinterest.

“But why padlock an empty room?” Yaz countered. She got the intense feeling that it wasn’t truly empty as she watched the Doctor wave her sonic around before finally settling on the area a few yards in front of them.

“Unless it’s not empty.” Just a few more seconds passed before something happened. Yaz only blinked, but when she opened her eyes there was a single suitcase settled on the ground where the Doctor had been pointing.

“That wasn’t there a second ago.” Graham pointed out unnecessarily. Yaz watched Ryan roll his eyes at the man. “No kidding.”

“It was there, we just couldn’t see it.” The Doctor cut in before the two could start arguing. “Perception filter,” she explained as she led the way towards it and knelt down.

“Can we open it?” Ryan asked, looking at it curiously.

“…Is the right question!”

The Doctor was quick to reach for the latches keeping it shut and Yaz could feel the obvious excitement coming off of her at the possibilities of the suitcase.

“Is anyone excited? Cuz I’m really excited.”

“You won’t be if it’s a bomb.” 

The blonde rolled her eyes, obviously miffed. “Don’t kill the vibe, Graham!” 

Graham just sighed and kept his mouth shut after that. Yaz shared an amused look with him and shrugged her shoulders. He shouldn’t have expected anything different by now, really.

The Doctor was quick to open the suitcase after that, revealing what was inside. “Woah…”

“Not very fifties.” Ryan said, and Yaz had to agree. It looked like various pieces of tech, although Yaz wouldn’t know where to even begin figuring out what they did. The Doctor seemed to, though.

“I knew it.” The Doctor said. “See, now there’s a problem. We’re not the only ones in Montgomery who don’t belong here.”

Yaz leaned forward a bit to get a better look at the contents of the suitcase. “Any clue as to what any of that is?”

She watched as the blond took the pieces of tech out one by one, naming them off as she went. “Information brick… Multi-interception surveillance device… All a bit knackered though.”

“Well why’s it been left in here?” Graham questioned.

The Doctor gasped by way of an answer, reaching into the suitcase and pulling something else out. “This explains the artron signals. This is very bad news. Secondary charger for a-”

She was cut off by the sound of a blast hitting one of the chairs to their left. Yaz’s eyes widened as the chair disappeared completely, nowhere to be found. Turning around, she was able to see the shooter. A man, probably mid-thirties, dressed in a leather jacket and jeans in some sloppy try at fitting in.

There was something in his hand, but Yaz couldn’t get a better look at it before he shot again, and she ran the opposite way after a shout of “run!” from the Doctor.

She took only a few steps before she paused for a moment, letting Graham get in front of her and putting her at the back of the group once more. She watched as the man took aim once more, specifically at Graham running just in front of her to the right.

Yaz didn’t think, just acted when she saw him look back as well, his eyes widening as he thought he was about to die. She felt her magic flare as she brought it to the surface of her skin and threw her arm out and allowed the purple to flow out. She knew the second it wrapped around the ladder she had seen as they walked in and, with a grunt, pulled it towards her.

This was all in the matter of seconds and she watched with glowing eyes as the ladder flew behind Graham just barely quick enough to take the blast that was meant for the still wide-eyed man. The ladder disappeared and Yaz was swift in her mission to grab Graham and push him in front of her with a burst of speed right as they reached the door. He launched through it and Yaz hurried to turn around and slam it shut before running behind the others once more.

They reached the fuel tanks when the Doctor herded them behind one of them and told them to hide. Yaz and the other three stood with their backs to the tank as they heard the man climb on top of one just a few barrels behind them, the sound of his footsteps against medal their only warning.

The wind covered up their panting as the Doctor turned to them. “Stay here.”

Yaz heard as she climbed up their own tank, most likely facing the man. “Oi. Rando,” Yaz heard from the blonde. “Looking for us? I’m not armed.”

“Is that supposed to make me not shoot you?” Came the answer in a low voice. Yaz decided she didn’t like it.

“Ideally.” Yaz could picture the little shrug the Doctor probably did after she said that and shook her head at the woman before tuning back into the conversation. “So, temporal displacement weapon. Horrible things, can’t stand them.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s not a compliment.” There was a pause. “Takes a lot of power to displace things in time. I think you and I both know your weapon’s pretty much out of juice, and I’ve got your spare battery.”

The Doctor’s tone changed just slightly, but enough to be noticeable to Yaz. “You’ve been leaving traces of residual artron energy all over 1955.”

“And what are you, the artron police?” Yaz hears a low chuckle. “Maybe you are. Blue box in the alley – is it a TARDIS?”

“Might be. What’s it to you?”

“Well, could be worth a lot.” He tried to come off as nonchalant, but it ended up sounding more sleazy.

“Nah. Not that one. Second hand, huge mileage. One careless owner.” She paused only for a moment. “Mind you, it’s better than a vortex manipulator, like the one on your wrist.” Yaz heard a shuffle. “Cheap and nasty time travel.”

“So what do you want with Rosa Parks?”

“Who?”

“Now you’re just being annoying.” The Doctor groaned.

“The feeling’s mutual.”

“How long have you been here?” The Doctor tried again and, again, no answer was given.

“Get out of Montgomery.”

Yaz heard the Doctor chuckle, although it wasn’t warm like she knew it to be. “You’re not the first to say that to us.”

“If I see any of you again, I will kill you.” A pause. “I almost got one of your friends earlier when… something strange happened.” Yaz’s eyes widened and she shared a look with Graham.

“What are you talking about?” Yaz heard the Doctor question.

“Nevermind. Just watch that girl of yours.” There was a deep breath from the blonde.

“Don’t threaten me.”

That was the last thing said before Yaz heard the Doctor’s feet against metal as she stepped down from the fuel tank.

“Chop, chop. On your way now.” She heard the man say, followed by the sound of the Doctor’s sonic as she scanned. No other words were shared.

She guided everyone from their hiding place so they could join the Doctor as she walked away.

Yaz could feel eyes on her and looked back. Sure enough, the man’s gaze was boring into her as she walked away. She forced herself to look away and turned to the Doctor. “We’re not actually leaving, are we?”

“Not in a million years.”

* * *

“I’m getting real sick of seeing that sign.” Ryan said, and Yaz had to agree as she looked at the ‘WHITES ONLY’ taking up the bottom half of the motel sign in front of them.

“So how are we gonna do this?” Yaz asked, looking towards the Doctor.

“I have an idea.” She looked back at her with an apologetic smile. “But you’re not going to like it.”

Yaz sighed. “What is it?”

Turns out the Doctor’s idea was for her and Graham to get a room, and then pull Ryan and Yaz in through the bathroom window. Yaz shook her head as she helped pull Ryan through the open window, making sure to keep him steady.

“This is fun.” Ryan quipped.

“Last time I sneaked into someone’s room by a window was Danny Biswas in year ten.” It was a joke, but for some reason Ryan took it differently.

He scoffed as she leaned forward to slide the window back into its closed position. “You just ran right down to my estimation.”

Yaz looked back at him, offended and a little bit confused. “Alright!”

“Danny Biswas? He was punching well above his weight.” A smile started to grow on Yaz’s face. It was smug but she figured the situation called for it. “Did you just accidentally pay me a compliment?”

Ryan seemed to realize it as well, as he immediately went on the defensive, much to Yaz’s amusement. He just walked out of the bathroom with an annoyed, “Whatever!” and left her to laugh to herself in delight.

She moved out of the bathroom to join the rest of them in the bedroom. It was a good sized room, but grungy and it smelt like old cigarettes. There were two beds which meant they would have to double up, and Yaz already had a pretty good idea who she’d be doubling up with.

“Why can’t we just stay at the TARDIS?” Graham asked, noticing the not so great condition of the room as well.

“Our friend with a temporal displacement weapon’s got eyes on it. We go in and out of there, we’re going to run into him again, and I don’t want to just yet.” The Doctor answered, turning to Yaz suddenly.

“What did you do earlier that made him single you out?” The blonde asked, genuinely curious and just a bit nervous from what Yaz could tell.

Yaz sighed, looking down at her hands. “He shot at Graham, so I protected him.”

Slight realization washed over her face, but she still asked, “What did you do?”

“Just shielded him with a ladder that I pulled over. I knew that guy was watching but he was aiming right at Graham. I didn’t have a choice.”

“Yaz, it’s alright.” The Doctor said gently. “I don’t blame you for anything. We just might have to keep a closer eye on you while we’re here. He seemed interested and I don’t like it.”

“And Yaz…” She looked over at Graham, who was looking back with a serious expression. “I’d be dead if you hadn’t done what you did, so thank you. And it was pretty amazing, too. Did you know her eyes glow when she uses her powers?” He looked towards the Doctor and Ryan, the latter of which was shaking his head. He hadn’t seen that part yet.

Yaz laughed, soon followed by the Doctor who was also nodding. “It’s amazing.”

“It only happens when I use my telekinesis. Or sometimes it’ll flare when I’m caught off guard.” Yaz clarified, looking between each of them.

“Alright then. Back to the matter at hand.” The Doctor guided them back to the original topic.

“Yeah.” Yaz cut in. “Like, what do we actually know?”

“Well. 1955, Montgomery. One day away from Rosa Park refusing to give her seat up on a bus.” Graham listed.

“Meanwhile, we’ve got an out of time imposter skulking at the bus works with a temporal displacement weapons.” The Doctor added on.

Yaz saw Ryan’s confused look out of the corner of her eye, and watched him open his mouth to ask a question. “I understand weapon, but I’m not sure about temporal displacement?” He phrased it like a question, prompting the Doctor to explain.

“It displaces you through time. A blast hits you, you’re thrown through time to wherever the user had set it. He had it set for the very far future.”

“That’s horrible.” Ryan said, and Yaz had to agree with him. It was kind of frightening to think that there was potential for them to be sent through time and even more frightening that it had almost happened to Graham.

“Yes.” The blonde agreed. “And it uses artron molecules. That, plus his vortex manipulator were presumably what the TARDIS detected when it brought us here.”

“So do we think he’s trying to kill Rosa Parks? Or use that weapon on her?” Yaz asked, struggling to put the pieces together in her mind. It didn’t make sense thought. After all…

“He’s been here a while. Set up base at the bus works. If he wanted to get rid of her, why hasn’t he done it already?” The Doctor questioned, although she seemed to know something besides what she was telling them.

“Besides, the sonic picked up something else on him but I need to go back to make sure. Right!” Yaz watched as the Doctor climbed up on one of the beds and pulled out a marker. “What do you remember about Rosa from school?” Yaz’s eyes widened as the blonde began writing on the walls, and it prompted Graham to speak up.

“Hey! What are you doing? That’s vandalism, we’ll have to pay for that!”

The Doctor looked back at him. “Don’t worry, special pen.” And continued writing.

“No, pack it in! You ain’t banksy!”

“…Or am I?”

Yaz just sighed, sharing an exasperated look with Graham and shrugging her shoulders to let him know he should just give it up. They looked up at the wall to see that the Doctor had written Rosa’s name as well as the next day’s date. The blonde turned to them. “Rosa takes the bus on the first of December, 1955. What time of day?”

Yaz knew that, actually. Remembered reading about her in school. “Evening. She was coming home from work. I remember because she said people thought she didn’t stand because she was tired from working, but she wasn’t.” The Doctor wrote it down quickly.

“Great! Where does she work?” Yaz racked her brain for the answer, searching through all the years of schooling. “I think it was in a shop, like a department store?”

“No, no. Remember, because she told that git that slapped Ryan, ‘Your suit will be ready tomorrow’.” Graham pointed out, and it clicked for Yaz.

“That’s it, she did clothes repairs! She was a seamstress.” Yaz squinted. “…Was a seamstress. Gotta get used to being in the past.”

They were all startled by a hard knock at the door. Everyone froze, looking towards the door in shock, as if they couldn’t believe there could possibly be someone on the other side.

Yaz snapped out of it first, turning to Ryan with a serious look on her face. “Bathroom.” She commanded.

“Seriously?”

Another heavy knock.

“Very seriously.”

They hurried into the bathroom, Yaz gently closing the door behind them so as not to make any noise. She turned to find Ryan sitting on the edge of the tub looking quite frightened and was quick to open the window next to him before the front door was opened. She had a backup plan in case they needed it. Sort of.

She managed it, just getting it opened as she heard the front door squeak open and the sound of voices filled the front room. She didn’t like the sound of it, she decided. And she was right not to when she heard the guest introduce himself as an officer with the Montgomery police. Looking towards Ryan, Yaz pointed towards the open window and mouthed at him to climb through. She helped support him as he clambered through before climbing through herself, coming to land in the dirt just outside the window.

Yaz hadn’t had a full plan when she told Ryan to climb out the window, but she figured it was their only option. After all, if she was police there would be no way she would forget to look in the bathroom. Especially if the door was closed.

She looked around for anything to hide behind and, to her left, saw a large dumpster placed against the wall. She was quick to grab Ryan and drag him behind it, pulling him down with her as she sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest and making sure he did the same.

“I’m sick of this place already.” He said quietly in fear of the officer overhearing them, but needing to talk about it anyway.

“I know. To be here just as history is taking place.”

“This ain’t history here, Yaz. We’re hiding behind bins. I’m having to work so hard just to keep my temper. I could’ve slapped that guy back there as soon as we arrived. Thank God my nan taught me how to keep my temper. Never give them the excuse.”

Yaz could give him that, but she had always been one to look at the bright side of things, even when it didn’t seem like there was one. Still, “My dad tells me the same.”

“See? It’s not like Rosa Parks wipes out racism from the world forever. Otherwise how come I get stopped by the police way more than my white mates?”

“Oi,” Yaz chided. “Not this police.”

“Tell me you don’t get hassled?” Ryan challenged.

“Of course I do. Especially on the job. I get called a Paki when I’m sorting out a domestic, or a terrorist on the way home from the Mosque.”

“See? Exactly.”

Yaz looked at him, but he still glared at the wall across from them. “But they don’t win, those people. I can be a police officer now because people like Rosa Parks fought those battles for me. For us. And in 53 years they’ll have a black president as a leader.” Ryan finally looked at her. “And who knows where they’ll be 50 years after that, but that’s proper change.”

Yaz caught the beginnings of a smile on Ryan’s face. “What?” She asked, her own smile forming.

“Were you born this positive?”

“Maybe.” She laughed. “Must be my Mexican blood.” That got Ryan laughing too, the tense atmosphere finally disappearing. And just in time as the heard Graham calling for them out the window.

“Ryan! Yaz!” They heard, and shared a look before standing up from their hiding spot.

When they were all back inside they gathered once more in front of the beds, the Doctor in her same position at the head of one with a marker in her head. The list was gone when they came back in but with a wave of the Doctor’s sonic it reappeared, and they picked up where they left off.

“Where were we? We need as much intel as we can get. If we’re gonna protect Rosa, we need to know the facts of her life. Home address, daily routine, where she works, the route she takes, and the church she attends.” The Doctor began listing off. “Also, the name of the driver she refused.”

“I know that, it’s James Blake.” Graham said, surprising all of them.

“How’d you know that?” Ryan questioned from where he sat at the foot of the bed.

“Well, your nan, when she found out I was a bus driver she said to me, ‘you better not be like James Blake,’ Blake the Snake she called him.”

“She said that when you’d only just met?” Yaz asked, the surprise clear on her face.

“Yeah.” Graham laughed. Yaz was impressed. “That’s pretty hardline.”

“That’s my nan.” Ryan said, and it was clear that he was fond of his grandmother’s personality. The atmosphere got sad for a moment.

“I wish she was here to see all this.” Graham said, and to Yaz his grief was still so palpable. She could see Ryan nodding slightly out of the corner of her eye before he sighed. “I don’t.” He said, obviously joking. “She’d start a riot.”

The air still felt solemn, but the joke helped them get back to the task at hand. “Alright.” The Doctor looked at them, finally getting of her perch at the top of the bed. “Operation Rosa Parks.”

* * *

“I found out where she works.” Yaz said, pointing out an ad in the newspaper they had all been sitting around. “Montgomery fair department store, and if the phone book is right,” She pointed at a second newspaper column. “This is where she lives.”

They all watched as Graham placed two piles of bus pamphlets in front of them. He pointed to the ones on the left. “These routes don’t go anywhere near Rosa’s shop or house, but,” he pointed to the ones on the right. “These ones do.”

“Great.” The Doctor leaned forward. “If we can find Rosa’s route and time today, we can keep an eye on her tomorrow.”

“Anyone up for a bus ride?”

Only Graham raised his hand. Yaz sighed.

* * *

Yaz awkwardly stepped onto the bus behind the Doctor and Graham, not quite sure if she was even supposed to be getting on there. She wasn’t black, she supposed… But she also wasn’t white. She felt the eyes of some of the other passengers on her and kept her head down.

Definitely not white.

She sat down in a window seat a few rows back and quickly grabbed onto the Doctor and pulled her down next to her. She met the blonde’s confused gaze and shook her head. “Sorry. They’re all staring at me.” She mumbled.

The Doctor seemed to just realize her predicament, as her expression immediately softened.

“I don’t know if I’m even supposed to be sitting here. I mean, the driver let me on at the front of the bus.” Yaz sighed. “I guess I’ll just stay here and see what happens.”

Yaz turned towards the back just as Ryan was stepping on, the others following suit. Their eyes met. “Here’s me.” Ryan said. “Sitting at the back of the bus.”

She heard Graham’s quiet, “I’m so ashamed,” and his louder, “You shouldn’t have to do this.”

The Doctor looked guilty as well. “I agree, I’m sorry, Ryan.” The boy just shrugged. There was really nothing to say.

Luckily the bus ride was short. Maybe ten minutes until they were at their stop. They waited along the sidewalk until the bus rolled out of the way, each of them fanning the air against the fumes that saturated the air.

Yaz looked at the building in front of her, the same building she had seen in the newspaper ad, she remembered. “That’s where she works.” She said, pointing at the building across the street from them. “This must be her stop.”

“Brilliant. We can wait here, then get on the bus with her when she finishes work. Have a little chat.” The Doctor told them, already sitting herself down to wait it out. The others followed suit quickly, sitting in relative silence until it was time to get back on the bus.

It was dark by the time Rosa came out, but she still seemed to recognize them and looked at them with a strange expression. Yaz sat in the last seat before the colored section and pulled the Doctor down with her once more.

“Hi.” Yaz said to Rosa where she sat looking out the window. The woman turned to them, a little surprised and, Yaz could tell, a little annoyed. “Nice to see you again. Mrs. Parks, right?” She asked, although she knew fair well who she was talking to already.

However, Rosa didn’t know that, and answered with a confused, “Yes?”

“You helped us out earlier today with our little misunderstanding,” The Doctor reminded her, although Yaz already knew the woman remembered them very well.

“I remember.” Rosa answered, although she almost looked amused. “British.”

“Yes! Funny thing, you’ll never believe this. We’re actually doing market research for bus companies, looking at people’s transport habits. Answer the questions, and enter the raffle for a prize!”

Yaz didn’t think Rosa was fooled, but she seemed to humor them when the Doctor questioned her. “So you take the bus this time every day?”

“Most days. Always this time.”

“And you live…?”

“Cleveland Court, next stop.”

Rosa sighed. “Tell me, if I win this raffle, does that give me the right to sit anywhere I want on this bus?”

“No.” The woman seemed a little surprised at the blunt answer, but she covered it quickly. “I didn’t think so. This is my stop.” They watched as she followed a few other passengers out the door, their attention pulled to Ryan when he stood up as well.

“I’m going to follow her,” He said. “See what I can find out.”

The Doctor nodded. “Be careful.” Ryan nodded back before hurrying out the doors before they closed. Yaz watched him leave. “You think he’ll be alright?”

“I hope so,” The Doctor answered honestly. “Graham, do you think you can find James Blake the driver?”

Graham nodded immediately. “Yeah, I’ll just have a talk with the bloke up front, see where they all drink.”

“Great. Yaz, can you compile a timeline of what happens this time tomorrow evening?”

“Okay.” Yaz agreed. It sounded easy enough. “What are you gonna do?”

“Talk to our friend. Tell him to stay out of history’s way.”

* * *

**The Doctor**

The Doctor’s footsteps were quiet as she made her way through the bus yard, her ears listening for even the smallest sound out of place.

She entered the barn they had all been in earlier that day and, with a wave of her sonic, disabled the perception filter on the suitcase she knew was there. The Doctor quickly kneeled in front of it and reached for the handle. She paused for a moment.

Then, with a grunt, she picked it up and swung it behind her, allowing it to fly through the air, right between her and a very angry man with a temporal displacement weapon. She watched as the suitcase disappeared into the far future and looked at the man with a smug smile.

“Oops! Shame. You just sent all your equipment to goodness knows where. 79th Century judging by the weapons setting.” She said, squinting at the weapon in the guy’s hand. “Which, by the way, overheat very easily.” Just as she said it, the weapon glowed an angry red, burning his hand until he dropped it with a muffled grunt.

The Doctor watched as it slid across the floor. “Cheap and nasty. Now we’re even.” She moved closer to him. “First things first, tell me about Stormcage.”

She could tell from the look on his face that he was going to try to play dumb. Because of this, she was not shocked at his answer. “Storm-what?”

The Doctor rolled her eyes with a groan. “Ugh rubbish liar. On your wrist is a Stormcage identifier.” She eyed his wrist, smug as she watched him get uncomfortable at being caught in his lie. “The most secure prison facility in this side of the universe. Not in this time zone, of course, but I guess that’s where the vortex manipulator comes in.”

“It’s amazing what you can get if you’re prepared to work and barter inside that prison.”

“Escape or release?” The Doctor asked, not at all amused by is attempted charm.

He shrugged. “I did my time. I’m… rehabilitated.”

“What were you there for in the first place?”

“Oh, if I tell you it might… color your view of me. I was young, nobody got _hurt…_ ” She watched in disgust as he smiled. “Well, a few people got killed. A few hundred people, a thousand, tops… Two thousand.” His grin was almost shy, as if he was talking about an art piece of his.

 _Maybe that’s what it was to him_ , the Doctor thought, outraged at the man in front of her. But, she just nodded. “And it was nasty enough that Stormcage placed a neural restrictor in your brain before releasing you back into the universe.”

Now she caught him off guard, she knew, because he just blinked. “How could you know that?” He stepped towards her in a way that was probably supposed to be threatening. “Who are you?”

She pulled her sonic out and waved it in front of her a bit. “Very good scanner, this. I thought I detected it the first time we met,” The Doctor turned away from him, strolling with her back to him as she kept speaking. “And then it started to make sense, because we were wondering, you’ve obviously got a problem with Rosa, so why don’t you just kill her? The answer is, you can’t.”

She turned towards him again and began walking that way. “Neural restrictor means you can’t kill or injure any living thing. It stops you from doing it, no matter how much you want to try. So, even if I do this,” The Doctor reached toward him suddenly and ripped the vortex manipulator from around his wrist, quickly throwing it on the ground and crushing it with her foot. “Smash your vortex manipulator…”

The blonde saw his movement from the corner of her vision and she wasn’t surprised when she suddenly felt his hand wrapped around her throat, nearly lifting her off the ground with the force of it. She just smiled, watching as he strained against the inhibitor in his brain. “There it is, kicking in. Tied to your brain chemistry.”

He dropped her, leaving her to rub her sore neck and watch as he hunched over in pain, hands leaning heavily on his knees as he panted heavily.

“You can’t harm me, as much as you want to.” She leaned down towards him. “Better be nice to me because I’m your best chance of getting out of this time zone now.”

The Doctor circled him as he tried to push himself up to his full height, but he was still obviously straining.

“Neutered criminal on release, and you come here. Why?”

He looked away from her. “We’ve all got a hobby.”

She stared him down. “And yours is Rosa Parks.”

“This is where things started to go wrong.”

The Doctor narrowed her eyes at him, tilting her head as more pieces began to click into place. She shook her head. “And you think you can put them right?”

“I had a lot of time to think at Stormcage, and I realized, tiny actions change the world.”

“What’s you name?” She asked, surprising him with the subject change. Enough so that he answered.

“Krasko.”

“Don’t like it. Listen, Krasko, I’ll give you one more warning. Go somewhere else. Find a beach, read a book, because you’re a criminal whose lost his kit, lost his weapons.”

She watched warily as he just smiled. “You think that makes a difference? History changes when tiny things don’t go to plan.” He holds his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart to display this.

It finally clicked for the Doctor. “You mean tomorrow. It won’t work. Not while I’m here.”

Krasko nodded his head, as if he expected the answer from her, which he probably had. It seemed to her like he took it as a sort of challenge. Doing it just to spite her now. “We’ll see.”

She kept her gaze on him as he walked away, not looking away until he was out the door and out of her sight. When she looked away she noticed he had left something. She bent down to pick up the dropped temporal displacement weapon, glad that he was now without it, and put it in one of her coat pockets, turning around and walking away as well.

The walk back to the motel was fairly short, maybe ten minutes until she was greeted with the sight of the bright sign in front of the buildings. She trudged up the stairs and to the door of their room before realizing she didn’t have the key. She had given it to Yaz when they had split up earlier that night.

She brought her fist up and gently knocked against the door, not too loud, for fear of anyone looking out and seeing anything they weren’t supposed to.

It was only a few seconds until the door slowly creaked open, Yaz peeking out from the crack and quickly opening it wider when she realized it was the Doctor. “Hey!” She said, allowing her to walk in before she closed the door and locked it behind her. “How’d it go?”

“Really good. Found out what he wants and also, managed to get this.” She pulled out the temporal displacement weapon and tossed it on the bed closest to the bathroom.

It was when she turned to throw the weapon on the bed that she heard Yaz’s gentle gasp, followed by a gentle graze of fingers against her neck.

“Did he do this to you?” Yaz asked, although the Doctor was certain she already knew the answer. Yaz was much too observant.

Regardless, she nodded. “Yes, but it’s fine. He can’t really hurt me.” Yaz looked confused at that, prompting her to explain. “He has this neural restrictor in his brain. Makes it so he can’t hurt or kill any living thing.”

Yaz sighed. “This looks like it kind of hurts.” She pointed out, her fingers still lightly touching the faint bruising, and the Doctor hesitated. “It doesn’t really,” Yaz just stared. “Okay, it’s a little sore, but it’ll be healed by morning, promise.”

She shook her head sadly. “Maybe I should have gone with you.”

The Doctor disagreed immediately. “No, Yaz. He singled you out earlier, which really isn’t good. I was fine, anyway, and I needed you here to make that timeline.”

Yaz looked like she understood, but the Doctor knew she still wasn’t happy about it as she let her hands fall back to her sides and decided to change the subject, looking towards the papers scattered about the desk at the front of the room.

“Did you finish the timeline?” The Doctor asked, gesturing towards the mess of papers filled with Yaz’s handwriting. The woman nodded, bringing her over to look at it together.

The Doctor read over what she had and was pleasantly surprised by how detailed it was. She looked over at Yaz with a proud smile. “Well done, Yaz. This is perfect.”

“Thanks,” Yaz replied with her own smile, glad that the Doctor was happy with her work. “What now?” She asked.

The Doctor stepped back and sat down on the bed nearest to the door, watching as Yaz did the same. She sighed.

“Now we wait to see what the boys come back with.”


	8. Rise Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asteroid 284996, also known as Rosa Parks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I thought I would bang this chapter out tonight and get to writing the next chapter tomorrow! This one is short though, only about 4,000 words, but I hope you still enjoy it! Thank you all for reading and for all your support!
> 
> Bre

It had only taken another hour for Ryan to show up, telling them all about how he had met Martin Luther King and got to serve him and Rosa Parks coffee. Yaz teasingly rolled her eyes at him and reminded him that he hadn’t even known who the woman was when they got there. He just shrugged sheepishly with a small smile on his face, Yaz rolling her eyes in response, although she was smiling as well.

The Doctor had helped Yaz tape up the full timeline she had managed to put together, lining them up on the wall above the bed nearest the bathroom. She had also taped up the various newspapers they had gone through and drawn thin lines between any connections with her ‘special’ pen.

They were all gathered around Krasko’s temporal displacement weapon, the Doctor scanning it with her sonic after having moved it to the night stand between the two beds. The Doctor still stood on the bed closest to the door while Ryan and Yaz stood in between them, intermittently writing things down when any connections were made.

“Managed to get Krasko’s weapon, at least.” The Doctor said, standing straighter from where she’d been crouched down while scanning the weapon. Yaz and Ryan were in the middle of nodding in agreement when they heard the door open, causing their heads to whip around before they relaxed at the sight of Graham walking through. Yaz tilted her head at the expression on his face, looking like he had bad news to share with them.

“James Blake is taking the day off.” Everyone turned to face him then, eyes widening as the atmosphere became tense.

“What?” Yaz exclaimed automatically. “But he can’t!”

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Strangely, he didn’t listen.” His eyes turned to the Doctor. “Listen, your mate is interfering. He’s reassigned Blake’s route to a driver called… Elias Griffin Junior?”

“Tiny actions.” The Doctor said, thinking back to what Krasko had said during their conversation earlier that night. “That’s what Krasko’s doing. See, he’s clever, I’ll give him that. He knows. He’s not planning on killing, or destroying, or breaking history. He’s planning to nudge it just enough so it doesn’t happen. Enough of a stick in the spokes to throw everything off the rails, and now I’m really mixing my transport metaphors.”

“But he didn’t reckon with us keeping it in place.”

The Doctor finally stepped down off the bed, coming to stand at the front of the room and allowing Graham to turn around and sit on the bed she had just vacated.

“And how do we do that?” Yaz asked, watching the Doctor pace a bit in front of them before she stopped, turning to face them fully.

“Now, we know what our task is; keep history in order. No changing it, just guarding it, against someone who wants to disrupt it. Tomorrow, we have to make sure Rosa Parks gets on the bus driven by James Blake. And that the bus is full, so when Rosa sits, she’s asked to stand for white passengers.” There’s a beep, and they all turn their heads to see Ryan standing with the temporal displacement weapon in his hands, looking it over closely.

“Ryan don’t mess with that.” The Doctor said warningly.

“How does it even work?” He asked, just holding it rather than trying to press anything.

The Doctor took it from him as she explained, pointing as various components. “Charger’s here, and this setting dials the temporal destination. Pretty simple, pretty deadly. Now, can we please concentrate.” She tossed the weapon back on the bed.

Graham finally chimed in. “How are we supposed to keep history in order if James Blake is gonna go fishing at Mill Creek, and another driver is lined up to do his route?”

“I have an idea!” Yaz and Ryan gave each other a look at the synchronicity of their statements, the other two looking at them in surprise as well.

“Same idea?” The Doctor’s voice lilted hopefully. Their answers were synchronized as well, although that’s where the similarities ended.

“Raffle winner.”

“Fishing take down.”

Another look was shared, Yaz’s eyes narrowing when Ryan had the audacity to look at her as if her plan was the weird one.

Yaz sighed.

They went to bed not long after that, taking only a few minutes to solidify the plans for the next day. Ryan and Graham would go find James Blake and somehow managed to get him back to the bus debot, while the Doctor and Yaz would find Elias Griffin Junior and take him out of the picture by way of a winning raffle ticket awarding the man and his wife with tickets to see Frank Sinatra.

Apparently Elvis lent him his mobile phone.

* * *

Yaz walked quickly to keep up with the Doctor on their way to Rosa’s shop, intentionally torn coat folded over her forearm as they raced up the stairs.

As far as Yaz knew, they didn’t have a plan at the moment, so they were left to wing it when they finally came face to face with Rosa.

“Mrs. Parks, enormous clothing emergency. Can you help me?” The Doctor held out her torn coat to the woman and they watched as she grazed her fingers over the tear, humming at what she saw.

“That is one nasty tear.” Rosa agreed, pulling her hand back to rest in her lap.

“Yes, it is.” Yaz had their attention, looking up to make eye contact with Rosa with her false confidence. “And there’s nothing us Brits hate more than a clothing emergency.”

“Mrs. Parks, I have to go out in that coat this evening and if it’s torn I’ll get in such trouble.” The Doctor’s face was impressively pleading, although Yaz was sure she was pulling the emotion from some other experience.

“Can you take a look at it now?” Yaz could see her about to protect but she was quick to add on incentive. “Double time Christmas bonus.”

That did it, she knew as she watched the woman sigh before looking through the calendar on the her desk. “Well, I don’t have any collections until tomorrow afternoon, so I guess I could fit you in. If you come back just before we close-”

“I’ll wait!” Yaz interrupted, knowing someone would have to stay with Rosa to make sure everything was kept on schedule. “Keep you company.”

Rosa looked at her strange. “I don’t need company.”

“No, but my coat does.” The Doctor said, looking at her coat reverently. “It’s very valuable. I don’t usually let it out of my sight.” Yaz knew that to be true. “Thank you.”

The Doctor turned to Yaz, gripping her by the shoulders as Rosa took her coat to hang it up.

“Don’t let her out of your sight, I’m going to meet Graham and Ryan. Remember, get Rosa out of here by 5:40 at the latest to be on that bus on time.” Yaz nodded quickly, turning to face Rosa as the Doctor sprinted out of the room.

* * *

“Have you always wanted to be a seamstress?” Yaz asked Rosa, genuine curiosity clear in her voice. Enough so that the woman actually answered her, surprising Yaz after the hour of relative silence before.

“I dreamed of being a teacher, but my grandmother got sick, then my mother, so that was the end of school.” Rosa answered, keeping her attention on the Doctor’s coat while Yaz stood behind her, leaning against her desk.

“Sorry about that.”

“Oh, I got myself educated. Just took longer than I thought.”

“But you kept going.” Yaz prompted.

“Always. An education makes you unstoppable.”

“Everything here is a fight for you.” Yaz thinks back to all the harassment she has gotten well used to dealing with, both in her personal life as well as her professional life in the force. “What keeps you going?”

Rosa paused for a moment, and Yaz could see her thinking about what she wanted to say next. “Promise of tomorrow. When today isn’t working, tomorrow is what you have.”

“You married? Got a job back home?”

Yaz almost laughed. “Not married, and I’m a police officer.” That caught Rosa’s attention and she turned around to look at Yaz, surprise obvious in her expression.

“You’re police?” She asked, and Yaz felt a rush of pride at where she was, even though what she really wanted was a bit further along.

“Yeah, just starting. Not where I wanna be.”

Yaz could feel Rosa’s amusement as she turned back to the coat. “And where do you want to be?” Yaz didn’t hesitate.

“In charge.” Rosa laughed a genuine laugh at that, and Yaz thought she could see a bit of respect coming off the woman. “Amen to that!”

The conversation died a bit after that and Yaz glanced at the clock on the wall behind her. 5:30, is said, and Yaz could feel her anxiety rising as she turned to Rosa, trying to gauge the woman’s progress on the Doctor’s coat.

“Shouldn’t you be finishing up?” Yaz asked, keeping the nervousness out of her voice exceptionally well.

“If a job is worth doin’, it’s worth doin’ well.” Rosa replied, not looking back at her.

“But…” Yaz looked at the clock again. “Don’t you have a bus to get?”

“I can always walk.”

Yaz watched the clock closely after that, her anxiety rising with each minute that passed and Rosa still wasn’t done with the coat.

It wasn’t until 5:38 exactly that Yaz heard the final snip of the scissors, followed by Rosa’s voice. “I think that should just about do it.” She said.

Yaz was quick to snatch the coat out of her hands. There was no time for subtlety anymore. “Love it. I’ll walk you out.” She said, guiding the woman towards her coat even in the face of her confused expression. “Pay you on the way,” Yaz finished, lightly pushing the woman out the door and following after her, heaving a big sigh at the stress of the whole operation.

Luckily they didn’t have to wait long for the bus to arrive, as Yaz was sure that it would have been an awkward experience. Once the doors slid open Yaz was quick to step on, scanning the seats and breathing a sigh of relief when she saw the Doctor sitting in a seat a few rows back with Graham across from her.

“Yaz!”

“Mrs. Parks fixed your coat.” Yaz interrupted, handing back the Doctor’s coat and glancing behind her at Rosa, who was stepping on the bus and placing her money in the box, glancing around the bus.

“O-oh, thank you, Mrs. Parks.” The Doctor stuttered at the woman’s appearance. “Beautiful work. Much appreciated.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am.” Rosa said, quickly stepping off the bus to enter through the back once again. Yaz sighed at the treatment before sitting in one of the front seats, sharing a look with the Doctor and seeing her feelings reflected on the blonde’s face.

Yaz had barely sat down before hearing Ryan’s voice from in the distance. “Don’t drive off! One more coming on!” She heard his footsteps before she saw him, stepping into the bus and gasping for breath from his apparent run.

“Found you. I just got rid of Krasko.”

“How?” The Doctor asked.

“I borrowed this.” They all looked as he held up his hand, gripping the temporal displacement weapon. “I think I dialed the settings as far back as they could go. He’s gone.”

Ryan was cut off by the bus driver, who Yaz was assuming was none other than James Blake. “Use the door for coloreds.” He said, glaring at Ryan who just stared back before putting his money in, stepping out to go through the back.

They watched as Rosa stepped on, followed closely by Ryan. “Let’s move back.” The Doctor whispered to them, standing to do just that. Yaz and Graham followed, the former joining the Doctor in her seat after she sat down while Graham sat across from them.

The ride was silent, save for the occasional conversation scattered throughout. “Hey, Doc.” Graham whispered, although it was still quite loud and Yaz had to keep herself from physically cringing. “Rosa’s on board, Blake’s driving, we’re good, right?”

Yaz looked over at the Doctor but something was off with the way she was scanning the seats around them.

“What’s the matter?” Yaz asked, watching warily as the blonde catalogued their surroundings.

“I’m counting seats.” She said, her gaze flicking between seats and people.

The bus screeched to a halt before any more was said, and Graham was quick to get out of his seat, immediately losing it as a new passenger sat in it. He turned to face them when he realized they weren’t getting up and his face shifted into a confused expression.

“We can go, right? Job’s done, history’s safe.”

The Doctor was still looking around, her thoughts moving so fast Yaz could feel them racing through her head. Her gaze snapped to Graham.

“Don’t get off, Graham.” She said. “If we get off, there’ll be enough seats for white passengers. Rosa won’t be asked to move. We have to stay on.”

Yaz’s eyes widened in realization. “We were here. We’re part of the story.”

Graham shook his head, his own eyes widened in realization in dread. “No. No, I don’t want to be a part of this.”

“We have to. I’m sorry, Graham, we have to not help her.” Graham’s eyes were pleading, looking at the Doctor as if hoping she would suddenly change her mind. But Yaz knew there was no mind changing in that moment. They had no choice.

“I’m gonna be needing those seats back there.” Yaz shut her eyes at the voice of the driver, demanding that these people give up their seats. She opened them, and turned them towards the back. Towards Rosa Parks. “Y’all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats.”

The woman sat there for a moment. Thinking, Yaz knew, before she stood up, allowing the man next to her to move if he chose to. He did. A deep breath, nothing happened. Another breath, and Rosa sat back down.

Yaz barely held in her gasp as James Blake stood suddenly, and she nearly flinched as he stomped past her, even though she knew he wasn’t coming for her.

“Are you going to stand up!?” His voice was loud, but Yaz couldn’t tear her eyes away. She could only watch as history took place before her.

Rosa was silent for a moment. Only for a moment as she stared him down, even from her sitting position.

“No.” It was one word, but it seemed to suck all the air from the inside of the bus, and Yaz had to hold her breath, only releasing it when she could hold it no more. She felt the Doctor tense up beside her, although she was still facing forward, an indecipherable expression on her face.

“If you don’t stand, I’m going to have you arrested.” Blake was no longer yelling, but the threat was clear in his voice.

“You may do that.”

There was a quick exhale, like he was shocked at her answer. Which he probably was, Yaz thought as she watched him stomp back to the front of the bus, stepping outside and coming to stand before a payphone.

She could vaguely hear his voice as he spoke to the police, but there were no voices otherwise. Only the sound of tense breathing coming from the other passengers. Yaz looked down at her hands and leaned into the Doctor, surprised when the woman pushed back lightly, although she didn’t look towards her. Still, it was reciprocation, Yaz knew.

The police were there within minutes. Yaz was sure they waited for calls like these and she allowed herself to shake her head, although she made sure to hide her face, knowing it would not have a kind expression on it. She watched as they handcuffed Rosa and pulled her from her seat. Watched as they dragged her through the bus and watched as she walked by them outside on her way to the police cruiser.

Rosa made eye contact with her. Nodded at her, encouraging. Yaz nodded back. The woman’s eyes shifted to someone else. Ryan, Yaz thought as she looked at him, her helplessness mirrored on his own face.

Everything was silent after Rosa had gone, but they were quick to get off the bus, not able to stand being there any longer.

The walk back to the TARDIS was even quieter, Yaz walking next to the Doctor while the boys were a few feet in front of them. All of their heads were down as they entered the TARDIS, each of them coming to stand in various places around the console.

Yaz listened, and smiled as she felt the TARDIS in her head. She shared a look with the Doctor, knowing the woman was having the same feeling, although likely a lot more magnified. She watched the Doctor walk around the console and flip a few levers and turn a few dials, and she could feel when the ship took off, the gentle rumbling the obvious sign.

The Doctor flipped another switch and a screen came on across the room, a video immediately starting to play. “On Monday the boycotts begin. Across Montgomery people refuse to use the buses as a response to Rosa’s arrest. And in just over a year, on the 21st of December, 1956, segregation on buses in Montgomery was ended.”

“So it all worked out for her?” Ryan turned to her and asked.

“No, life is still hard for Rosa. She loses her job, and so does her husband. It’s a struggle.” She answered honestly. “They keep fighting.”

She turned to the screen finally, and Yaz smiled when she saw what the video playing on it was. “And in June, 1999, Rosa receives the Congressional Medal from President Clinton. The highest award given to any civilian. Recognizing her as a living icon for freedom.”

“It took so long though. Her whole life.” The Doctor looked at Ryan.

“Yes, it did. But she changed the world. In fact, she changed the universe. Look at this,” She guided them all towards the front doors of the TARDIS and swung them open, grinning when she saw the shock on her friends faces. She pointed out in front of them, and all of their eyes caught on the large asteroid right in their field of view. “Asteroid 284996.” She looked at them.

“Also known… as Rosa Parks.”


	9. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finally make it home. Cobwebs are seen, guns are aimed, and rich guys go on scheduled bathroom breaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, I've been super busy since all classes went remote in the wake of this Coronavirus pandemic. Stick with me, though, this story WILL be continued. This is another fairly short chapter, but I wanted to get something out since it's been so long. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Bre

“Nearly there!” The Doctor yelled, scrambling around the console to pull various levers while her friends were just barely keeping themselves upright with tight grips on railings.

“Are you sure you’ve got this under control?” Graham asked, his voice tight from the strain of holding himself up.

“Totally!” That was a lie, Yaz knew. “New systems, just running them in.”

Yaz grunted as she tried to keep her grip on the railing through the turbulence the ship was subjecting them to. This was roughly their 20th attempt at landing home but Yaz was beginning to lose count after all the failures. She was finally able to let go when she felt the ship land and the shuddering begin to abide as she ran towards the front door and quickly peaked outside.

Her eyes widened as she was able to identify the area she knew to be just outside her flat building. “We’re home!” She said to her friends inside before she stepped fully outside. “We’re actually home!”

The Doctor stepped out next, and Yaz was able to hear her excited voice as she looked around, “Yes! Result! See, I told you I’d do it.”

Ryan followed close behind her and Graham was last, the three of them coming to stand in front of the Doctor where she stood in front of the open TARDIS doors. “We’re at Park Hill.” Ryan said, looking at the area around them.

“That’s my flat there.” Yaz told them, pointing near the top of the complex they had landed by.

“What? You live at Park Hill? We’re just up there.” He pointed up the street a bit.

“And I’ve got mobile signal again.” Yaz looked at her phone, although her face dropped slightly. “But no messages.”

“Well to be fair, it’s only half an hour since you left.” The Doctor said, noticing her sad expression. Yaz’s eyes widened as she checked her phone to see that it truly had only been half an hour.

“What, half an hour since we were with you in that warehouse?” The Doctor just nodded at Graham as if it was something completely normal. Which Yaz supposed it was, for her.

Yaz watched as the woman’s face immediately dropped, the Doctor’s eyes meeting her own for only a second before dropping down to the ground at her feet. Yaz tilted her head at the utter sadness she could feel coming off the Doctor and felt her own heart drop.

“So,” The Doctor fidgeted with the wood lining the TARDIS doors to avoid looking at them. “Suppose this is it, then.”

They all shared a sad look. “Yeah, I suppose it is.” Ryan said.

“Got you back, guess we’re done.” She finally looked at them and Yaz could tell she was trying to control her expression. “Nice having you aboard.” Yaz saw right through her.

“Thanks Doc,” Graham said. “It’s been a blast, truly.” The Doctor nodded, a fake smile plastered on her face.

“Pleasure.” She finally made eye contact with Yaz, smiling despondently at her. Yaz just stared back for a moment, thinking about how she could possibly extend the Doctor’s stay.

“What are you going to do now?” She asked, genuinely curious about the answer.

“Ah, you know.” The Doctor started and gestured towards her TARDIS. “Back in the box. There’s loads to see.”

“By yourself?” There was no mistaking the pained expression that Yaz managed to see crossing the Doctor’s face before the woman turned her head away again.

“Yeah, I suppose.” Yaz’s heart broke at the expression on the blonde’s face. She knew that expression was the reason for what she said next.

“Do you wanna come for tea at mine?”

No sooner than she had said it did the Doctor answer. “Definitely! Yes, I would, thanks!” She watched the woman immediately shut and lock the TARDIS doors before speeding past Yaz towards her building, leaving the three humans to blink at her enthusiasm. “I love tea. Tea at Yaz’s, amazin’.”

Yaz just shook her head, amused at the woman’s antics as she followed behind her. Just before she reached her the Doctor turned again, looking towards the boys. “Are you coming? Are we all going for tea at Yaz’s?”

“She didn’t invite us.” Yaz looked back at Ryan, incredulous.

“Don’t be daft, of course you’re invited.”

Ryan grinned back. “Alright then.” He began walking towards them before realizing that Graham wasn’t moving but was instead looking out into the distance.

“Graham?” Yaz prompted, pulling the man’s gaze to her.

“I think I’ll nip home first, Yaz. Maybe join you later if that’s alright?” Yaz nodded in agreement, smiling at him encouragingly.

She watched as Ryan stepped closer to Graham. “Shall I come with you?” She heard him say. A genuine offer, she knew.

“I’d rather do it alone.” Was the answer, and Ryan nodded before coming back to join the two women.

“Don’t go without saying goodbye.” Graham aimed the statement at the Doctor, who nodded at the request before they finally walked away, leaving the man to his devices.

“Tea at Yaz’s. Never been for tea at Yaz’s.” The Doctor’s voice was increasingly excited, and Yaz couldn’t help but chuckle at the woman’s enthusiasm, shaking her head as they made their way into the elevator.

The right was short, but only a few seconds in Yaz felt a gentle nudge at her side, and looked over to see the Doctor looking back with a gentle smile. Yaz couldn’t help the smile forming on her own face, although she looked forward again at the ding of the elevator signaling their arrival on her floor.

Yaz led the way down the hall way to her flat, looking over to her right and breathing a deep sigh at the view she really had missed so much. She was cut off from her musing by a voice a ways in front of them, and she tilted her head as she listened. “Anna!” She heard a female voice say, concern evident in the tone as well as her aura.

Yaz looked over to the Doctor, and her confusion mirrored on the blonde’s face, but before she could say anything Ryan spoke up, not quite having read the atmosphere around them. “I can’t believe you live here,” he said, shaking his head, and Yaz couldn’t help but smile. “Almost neighbors all this time.”

“I know. It’s cool.” She said, still smiling as they came up on her door, gesturing with her finger which one was hers. She took the keys from her pocket to unlock the door and could hear the Doctor’s questioning voice behind her.

“Everything alright?” Yaz heard the Doctor say, presumably to the woman who had been calling out for her friend just moments before. Yaz looked back and saw the woman take out her phone, quickly dialing a number before placing it against her ear and looking towards the Doctor.

“Fine, thanks.” She said, waving away the Doctor’s concern with a polite smile before speaking into the phone, nervousness clear in her tone. "Anna, it's Jade McIntyre-." Yaz tilted her head, not quite sure what she was reading from the woman, but she ended up opening the door when it seemed that the woman would not be sharing anything with them.

Yaz lead the way through the door and into the entryway just inside, Ryan and the Doctor just behind her.

“I’m home!” Yaz said, looking around her home. “Couple of mates with me!” There was no answer, and no movement as she walked further into the room, just about out of the hallway.

Yaz looked around. She was sure they weren’t alone, and she could feel a presence in her home. She was proven correct when the other two were startled slightly by a voice familiar only to her coming from the kitchen, quickly followed by the sight of her father, Hakim, towel in hand and an apron wrapped around his waist.

“You’ve brought friends back?” He asked, and Yaz was already sighing, embarrassed at his obvious excitement at the fact that she had brought people home. Her predicament was not helped when he spoke again, calling for her younger sister. “Sonya! Yaz brought friends back!”

“I’m getting food.” He told them, moving out of sight to shuffle around the kitchen.

Yaz looked back behind her, her eyes catching on Ryan and the Doctor standing in her doorway with varying degrees of awkwardness and she almost laughed. She would have, had she not been cut off by the arrival of her sister slinking out of the hallway to her left, coming to lean against the corner and crossing her arms in front her.

“You have friends?” She asked, looking at her with a devilish look in her eyes before turning to her friends. “She paying you?” Yaz scoffed, quickly followed by an awkward chuckle from Ryan, as if he wasn’t quite sure if he could laugh or not. She rolled her eyes, rather coming to stand fully within her front room, coming to lean against the wall while she watched her friends migrate into her home.

Ryan was quick to sit down at the table, her sister following soon after, pulling out her phone as they listened to her father clang around in the kitchen. Yaz’s own attention was pulled to the Doctor, who was moving further into the room to stand in front of the couch settled just in front of the window.

“Look at your views.” She said. “Never had a flat. I should get one, I’d be good in a flat, I could get a sofa. Imagine me with a sofa, like my own sofa. I could get a purple one, and sit on it.” Yaz chuckled at the woman as she rambled, although she finally moved to stand closer to them as her attention was caught by Yaz’s noise of amusement as well as the small smirk on her face.

“Am I being weird?” She asked in a whisper, scrunching her nose up at the idea.

“Little bit.” Ryan said, looking back at her in a sort of gentle honesty. The Doctor hummed at the answer.

“I’m trying to do small talk. I thought I was doing quite well.” Yaz shrugged, placating in the way she leaned forward and whispered to her, although her amusement was still incredibly clear. “Needs work.” Yaz told her.

The Doctor scrunched up her face again. “Maybe I’m nervous.” She said. “Or just socially awkward. I’m still figuring myself out.” Yaz shook her head at her, but just watched as her attention was called elsewhere. Yaz followed the woman’s steps and gaze as she looked at the pile of stuff Yaz hadn’t noticed before.

“You really like junk.” The Doctor said, leaning forward to get a better look. “Are you collecting it, like stamps?”

“Ah, let me tell you about this.” Her father had walked out of the kitchen at the Doctor's prompting and Yaz allowed herself to roll her eyes.

Yaz heard Sonya groan along with her, the latter looking up from her phone and verbally sharing her distaste at the subject. “Don’t get him started.”

“Dad, we keep telling you to stop picking it up. Mum’s gonna go crazy when she sees you’ve brought it home again.” Yaz crinkles her nose. “And it stinks.”

Hakim looked as if that was a physical impossibility, the offense at the statement clear on his face. “Well I can’t just leave it there.”

“Why do we have to have it?” Sonya looked at him.

Hakim looked at Yaz and she sighed, recognizing the argument she was about to have with her father. “Well,” he started. “I thought, since your sister is a police woman-“

“Officer.”

“And she said she’d do something about it.” He continued on as if she hadn’t spoke, prompting her to interrupt again.

“I did, and they’re looking into it.”

“Well, not fast enough. It’s a disgrace.”

“Don’t keep it in the kitchen! Put it down the chute.” Yaz shook her head, disappointed at the continued survival of the conversation as well as the continued criticism of her line of work.

“It’s evidence.” Hakim said, and both Yaz and Sonya rolled their eyes at the following words, having known what they would be since he had first spoke. “And you know what it’s evidence of?”

Yaz and Sonya shared a look. “A conspiracy.” They said together with no small amount of sarcasm.

“That’s right! A total conspiracy.” Hakim ignored the amused looks shared between his daughters. “And getting worse.”

Yaz looked over at the Doctor to gauge her reaction, a smile on her face that did not go away at the gasp from the blonde woman. “I love a conspiracy.”

Her attention was pulled away from the woman in front of her by the sound of her phone ringing in her pocket. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she pulled out her phone, answering it when she saw it was her mother calling her and stepping into the entryway for some small amount of privacy.

“Hi, mum?”

_“Hi. Can you pick me up from work?”_

Yaz’s confusion only rose. She was getting the feeling that something was off. “What? Now? I’m just in the middle of-”

 _“Yes, now. It’s urgent.”_ She was cut off. _“I’ll text you the address. Don’t let on to your dad, I’ll tell you everything when I see you.”_

“Fine.”

_“Thanks, sweetheart.”_

Yaz pulled her phone away, moving into the living area once more.

“Is she alright?” Her dad asked, slightly distracted as he set the table.

“Yeah.” Yaz said, sliding her phone into her back pocket. “She forgot something. Asked if I’d drop it at work for her.”

She could feel the Doctor’s gaze on her, and moved her own to meet the blonde’s eyes. “She’s got a new job. Posh hotel opening.” The Doctor nodded in acknowledgement. “Do you mind if I nip out quickly?”

“Need any company?” Yaz sighed. She would like that, but something about her conversation with her mother told her she shouldn’t bring anyone else with her and she forced herself to shake her head at the offer.

“Nah, I’ll be fine.” Something flickered in the Doctor’s eyes but Yaz turned away before she could get a real look.

“Don’t worry, we’ll look after your friends.” Her father told her, coming to rest a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “I’m going to make pakora.” Yaz’s eyes widened, and she almost lunged back into the kitchen in her haste.

“Dad, don’t.”

The others looked at her, surprised at her outburst. “He’s terrible at pakora.” She explained, looking between her friends' confused expressions.

“We never meet your friends! She never brings anyone around.” He aimed the last part at her friends.

“Married to the job.” Sonya cut in. Yaz narrowed her eyes at her sister. “At least I have a job to be married to. Bye...”

“Hope you don’t crash…” Yaz just scoffed as she turned towards the door, quickly grabbing her car keys before any more could be said, although she did hear her fathers reprimand and she left her flat with a small smirk on her face.

* * *

Yaz looked up at the hotel in front of her from where she sat in her parked car, no small amount of shock on her face. The building was much more extravagant than she would every be used to and she was a little worried about getting lost as she quickly turned off her car and stepped out.

Walking towards the front doors she slowly pushed them open, letting out a breath when the first person she saw was her mother, standing leaning against the desk just inside. The hotel was obviously still in construction as she looked around and saw the various tarps hanging from the ceilings and windows. Yaz ignored them all in favor of rushing over to her mother, quickly engulfing her in a tight hug when she realized just how much she’d missed her.

“Hi!” She said, the excitement clear in her voice. Her mother chuckled, although she hugged her back just as tightly.

“I only saw you this morning.” She told her, obviously amused at her daughters greeting.

Yaz finally allowed herself to pull back and look at her mother fully. “Yeah, well. It feels like longer.”

After letting go of the hug, Yaz immediately began scanning the full extent of the room around her. “This is well swanky.”

“Don’t get attached.” Yaz’s eyebrows furrowed at the tone of her mother’s voice and she turned to face her, the question clear in her expression.

“I’ve been sacked.”

Her mother was obviously upset about it, and Yaz was just about to question her about just who had the audacity to fire her mother when suddenly her head snapped to the left as she reacted to the sudden flare in her instincts.

She was quick to push her mother a bit behind her, cutting of the beginning of a question that she was glad didn’t make a reappearance as she saw the reason for her instictual protectiveness.

“Hands in the air, both of you!” Yaz was reluctant to do so, but forced herself to as two men strode towards them, one of which was holding a gun aimed straight at them while the other calmly stood in front of them, both hands folded behind his back. Yaz could assume that this man was the one in charge, as well as the one responsible for firing her mother.

“As of right now you both are trespassing on my property.” The boss man said. American, Yaz could tell, and she was sure she recognized him from somewhere but it wasn’t quite clicking.

“Put the gun down.” She said, instead, looking down the barrel aimed at her as well as her mother who still stood behind her. “Please, sir.”

“My hotel, my rules.” The American said before turning to Yaz’s mother. “You were fired. And yet, instead of leaving, you bring someone else in.” Yaz sees him eyeing her, assessing her, but she still keeps most of her attention on the gun aimed at them, although she does turn her head to face the man.

“She’s my daughter.” Her mother says from behind her, allowing her hands to fall to her sides. Yaz followed soon after, figuring if they were going to shoot them they would have by then. Even so, she still kept most of her attention on the armed man to her left. “She’s giving me a lift home.”

“Oh, how very moving.”

“Why’d you fire her?” Yaz bluntly asked, taking a step towards him.

“I don’t answer to you.” He immediately went on the defensive, and Yaz tilted her head. He didn’t like people questioning him. Interesting. “What are you, fifteen? You should be in school.”

Yaz shared an exasperated look with her mother. That wasn’t nearly the first time she had heard that from someone.

“Your mother isn’t supposed to be here. I told the staff to take two days off.”

“I can in early to do extra preparation before we opened.” Yaz looked over at the man still holding the gun at them, showing that she hadn’t forgotten about the danger presented to them.

“Well,” the American started. “I really don’t care. Because if I hadn’t fired you then I would have fired you ten minutes ago when I saw the rooms. Disgraceful.”

Yaz could feel the confusion coming from her mother as well as the anger coming from the man in front of them as she kept her body between the two.

“What rooms? I don’t understand.”

“I’m sure you don’t understand.” Yaz was getting tired of the condescension dripping from the man’s tone as he spoke to her mother, watching as he turned to her instead. “Would you like to see how good your mother _isn’t?_ ”

Yaz didn’t say anything. Her eyes followed him as he walked towards the stairs, knowing he wanted them to follow. She waited until his body guard lowered his gun and stepped in front of them before she walked that way herself.

They walked up only one flight of stairs before taking a turn down one of the long hallways, lined with doors leading into the various rooms. Yaz watched as the man opened the door to one of them near the middle of the hallway, holding the door open for them and gesturing with faux chivalry for them to enter first.

Yaz’s eyes widened at the first look she got of the room, looking around in shock at what was in front of her. She looked at the columns of cobwebs that lined the room, floor to ceiling as she walking further inside. There was no small amount of confusion or fear radiating off her mother as well as herself and the others in the room.

“Now, if you’re so great, explain this.” The American said, widely gesturing.

“I can’t.” Her mother admitted, looking around helplessly. “That’s not possible.”

“You’re fired. Again.” Yaz rolled her eyes at the man’s audacity, more than ready to defend her mother. However, she knew it wouldn’t help the situation and called upon years and years of patience in a deep breath, letting it out slowly in an attempt to calm herself.

They were interrupted by a quiet _ding!_ And the man brought his wrist up and into his line of vision, revealing a watch that was the source of the sudden alarm.

“Oh, it’s time for my scheduled bathroom break. Kevin, we’ll go next door.” Yaz’s lip curled in disgust. “And, when I’m done, Kevin will escort you off the grounds. Forever.”

Yaz watched as he walked out of the room, his body following soon after and leaving them alone in the cobweb-covered room. Yaz looked at her mother, an annoyed look on her face.

“Scheduled bathroom breaks?”

“I checked this room yesterday.” Her mother told her. “It wasn’t like this.”

“I know.” Yaz said. “I believe you.” She smiled at her and tapped one finger against her temple in silent meaning. Her mother sighed, relieved at Yaz’s easy belief of her, once again glad for the powers she had inherited.

They grew silent, and shared a look at the fact that their silence did not contribute to the silence of the room around them. Yaz didn’t like the noise she heard, but crept over to the source of it anyway against the far wall. She came to lean against it, pressing her palms flush against it before doing the same with her ear.

The shuffling was louder from her place against the wall, and she could feel the addition of vibrations coming through the wall and spreading into her hands.

Yaz almost startled then, when she felt a dormant connection in her brain open up again. She straightened up again, turning towards her mother with an unreadable look on her face as she felt through the connection for the woman on the other end. She ignored her mother’s concerned, “What is it?” Instead, she listened.

_Yaz._

The Doctor’s voice called through the connection and Yaz could feel the urgency coming through.

_Doctor? What is it?_

_Are you at the hotel where your mum works?_ Yaz tilted her head at the question, watching as realization washed over her mother’s face at what she was doing but shaking her head before she could ask anything.

 _Yeah._ She answered instead.

_Can you let us in?_

The connection cut off again, leaving her to turn towards her mother who was looking at her in shock. “Come on,” Yaz said, pulling her mother out the door after her and down the hallway.

“I have someone I want you to meet.”


	10. Arachnids in the U.K.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spiders. Spiders and Yaz's mum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I promised you a long chapter and I have delivered. This one's about 12,000 words I believe. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Bre

Yaz pulled her mother back down the stares and immediately walked over to the front doors where she saw the Doctor already waiting along with the boys and a woman she recognized as the one calling for her friend outside her flat. _Jade,_ she recalled. She was quick to swing the doors open and allow her friends to walk inside, all of them coming to crowd around the desk just inside like she herself had done when she first walked in.

The Doctor took one look at her mother and was quick to lunge at her and engulf her in an awkward hug that her mother did return, albeit a bit stiffly. Yaz smiled in surprise at the quick show of affection from the Doctor and watched in amusement as the blonde woman pulled back.

“Hi, Yaz’s mum!” Her mother looked at the blonde with a strange look on her face, and Yaz couldn’t blame her as she realized her mother hadn’t actually met the blonde before. She could realize that the Doctor was quite an acquired taste at first and just watched as her mother conversed with her for the first time.

“Najia.” She introduced before turning to Yaz, lowering her voice slightly as she spoke to her. “Yaz, they can’t be here.”

“Najia, you made a very awesome human.” The Doctor gestured towards said human who was smiling, slightly embarrassed at the praise. “Now, tell me what’s going on.”

Najia opened her mouth, presumably to question the woman in front of her rather than answer her question, but she was cut off by a scream cutting through the air, silencing them all. Yaz and her mother shared a look, both knowing that there was only one possible source of the noise in the otherwise empty hotel. The yell was quickly followed by a quick succession of gun shots and Yaz heard a few gasps spreading throughout the group.

“Was that gunshots?” She heard Ryan ask. She could tell he was already getting nervous at the prospect of going to look for the source of the noise, but there was no time for her to offer any comfort. Yaz was quick to drag her mother along behind her after sharing a short, communicative glance with the Doctor and sending a nod her way.

Yaz heard the Doctor’s “come on!” from behind her as well as the sound of footsteps following them up the stairs as she and her mother led the way. The Doctor was quick to overtake everyone, instead coming to stand just in front of Yaz as they walked quickly down the hallway.

They had just arrived at the door that seemed to lead to the source of the loud noises and, just as the Doctor was reaching for the doorknob, the door flew open they were immediately met with the sight of the American man falling through it, almost headbutting the opposite wall in his haste to escape the room. Yaz could tell he didn’t yet realize they were there as his gaze didn’t move from the door he had just stumbled out of. Everyone was silent for a moment, and for once their surroundings were as well as they watched the man attempt to catch his breath.

“You are joking.” Graham said from the back of the group, awe clear in his voice.

“No, way.” Ryan added, quickly followed by the extra woman they had brought along. “Oh, _no.”_ She said, and Yaz looked back to see the three of them looking at the man with vastly different expressions on their faces.

Yaz turned back to the matter at hand and watched the Doctor pull something out of her pocket. ID of some sort, Yaz thought. The Doctor was quick to close in on the man, flashing the pocket book in and away from his face before the man even had a chance to read it through his fading shock.

“Crisis investigators. You just ran really quickly out of a room looking really scared. Tell me exactly what’s going on, omitting no detail no matter how strange.”

“A giant spider just smashed through my bathtub and took out my body guard Kevin.” Yaz blinked, sharing a look with her mother and seeing her own confusion mirrored on the other woman’s face. She could feel the confusion coming off the others as well, but nobody spoke as the strange information sunk in.

Yaz knew the Doctor was trying hard to seem unbothered, but she could feel her hesitance as she spoke. “Right. Very succinct, so very well done.” The Doctor was nodding, obviously in the midst of wrapping her head around what she was hearing. “You just wait here, with my people.” She gestured towards her friends, the five of them standing there with varying degrees of shock.

“Spider smashed through a bath?” The man nodded in concurrence. The Doctor nodded back weakly before turning towards the door he had stumbled through just minutes before. “Right.”

Yaz was quick to follow the blonde, stepping after her with a quick look at her mother and shaking her head at her when she made to follow. She left them in the hallway with a placating touch against her sleeve as well as a glare at the man still leaning, stunned, against the opposite door and walked through the open door, closing it silently behind her.

The room was much like the one she had seen earlier, although without the extra decoration of the cobwebs slung throughout. She kept looking over her shoulder even as she followed the Doctor through and into the bathroom, stepping through when the door creaked open after a gentle push from the blonde.

“The room next door is covered in cobwebs. Top to bottom.”

“Just like your neighbor’s house.” Yaz’s head swung around to look at the woman in front of her.

“What?” What had she been doing at her neighbor’s house? _Yaz_ hadn’t even met her neighbor. How had she known to come here? Yaz had many questions, but she resolved to waiting to ask them until they at least had a break from worrying about being eaten by apparent giant spiders. On the bright side, at least she didn’t have arachnophobia.

“Big spider problem in this city right now, Yaz.” The blonde reached into her inside coat pocket, quickly pulling out her sonic and walking over towards the bathtub, which no longer looked like a bathtub but rather a hole in the floor where a bathtub used to be, surrounded by ceramic and dust. “Glad to be home?”

Yaz didn’t answer, instead watching as the Doctor leaned over the large hole in front of them and began scanning, the distinct buzz of the sonic filling the air. The blonde took a look at the readings before turning back to face Yaz, placing her finger to her lips in a _shh_ gesture that Yaz didn’t feel like she really needed to do in that moment. The atmosphere itself was enough for her to realize that perhaps silence was their best bet.

She watched in surprise as the woman went back to leaning over the tub, this time most of her upper body was out of sight as her lower body lay flush with the outside of the tub, keeping herself from falling through. Yaz was quick to lunge forward and take a large portion of the Doctor’s coat in her grasp, making sure the woman didn’t accidentally let herself go and fall through.

From her new position, Yaz could see down into the hole as well, surprised at how deep it actually was. They were only on the second floor, but the hole looked like it went down for hundreds of feet. Hundreds of feet of cave-like stone and dust.

The Doctor first looked to her right, but Yaz got the feeling something was wrong.

Yaz felt her eyes widen as she looked to their left and was sure she saw something moving. She was quick to tighten her right hand’s hold on the Doctor’s coat and wrapped her left arm around the Doctor’s waist, pulling her up and away with a breathless “ _oof!”_ just as she caught sight of the reason they were in there in the first place tumbling into the place the Doctor had been occupying just moments before. A very large spider, indeed.

“Did you see it?” She asked the Doctor, already swinging her towards the door with the arm she still had around her, only removing it when the blonde was on her feet and well in front of her.

“Really close.” They were out of the bathroom in seconds and stumbling through the front door much like the man had done previously. Yaz allowed herself to lean against the opposite wall as she tried to catch her breath, ignoring the surprised panic she could feel from the others as they watched them both literally fall through the door with their own panic on their faces.

“Did you see it? Did you find him?” The American asked them urgently even as they were attempting to catch their breath. The Doctor recovered faster than Yaz did and straightened up to look him in the eye. “Where’s Kevin?” He asked although Yaz was sure he already knew the answer just from the fact that they had returned without him. She could tell the Doctor knew that too, as she was quick to change the subject.

“We need to get out of this area quick. It’s too dark, too deserted. Spiders love that.” She told him. “We need to go somewhere bright and busy.”

Before she could continue she was cut off, the man gesturing wildly around himself. “No, no. No, we need to get as far away from that thing as possibly.” He pointed towards the room the three of them had just recently vacated.

“I’m with him.” Ryan cut in, joined by various nods of agreement from the others.

“I know the way out.” Najia informed them, calling everyone’s attention to her.

“Everybody follow Yaz’s mum!” Najia already began running back down the hallway, but not without a quick correction to the Doctor, “It’s Najia!” She said even as she led the rest of them past the rooms and towards the stairs. They were nearly running down the stairs and Yaz just barely caught hold of Ryan’s arm in time as he stumbled over his feet on the way down, managing to keep him up and nodding at the grateful look he sent her way before he focused back on where he was putting his feet.

Yaz heard the gasp before she saw anything, still keeping most of her attention on the boy to her right and making sure he didn’t slip again. It was only when they reached the bottom of the stares that she looked up, eyes widening at the sight before them. They were at the entrance, only there was no way through. They were barricaded in with layers and layers of cobwebs, and a quick scan of the Doctor’s sonic told them there wasn’t much chance of getting through them.

“How have they done so many webs so fast?” Yaz asked, watching the Doctor as she went over the readings again.

“Never mind that,” Graham said. “Let’s just get through them.” Yaz just shook her head, already knowing they wouldn’t be able to push through the webs trapping them inside.

“No, this can’t be happening,” The man whispered before continuing, louder, “This is a protest. Another one of those eco-protests. This isn’t spiders, spiders can’t do that.” He rambled, out of nervousness, Yaz could tell from the unsteady inflection in his voice.

“These spiders can. Those aren’t normal cobwebs. They know we’re here and they’re trying to seal us in.” The Doctor replied, scanning said cobwebs once again. 

“They’re trying to make the whole hotel their web.” Yaz looked over, once again remembering the woman the Doctor had brought along with her. Jade, she had to keep reminding herself. The woman didn’t quite look surprised and Yaz tilted her head at the strange feeling of acceptance she could sense from her. Yaz was sure she knew something. Before she could ask anything, however, the Doctor silenced them all.

“And we’re the flies.” The blonde looked at each other them, a new look of determination washing over her face. “We’re not leaving. We have to find out why they’re here and stop them getting any further. We need to find a safe haven. Yaz’s mum?”

Everyone’s attention went to the woman in question and it obviously startled her as she blurted out a quick answer without much thought, “Kitchen?” She tried, and the Doctor was quick to agree, and Yaz figured it was as good a place as any.

“Lead on!” Yaz was a bit slow in realizing they were going to be doing a lot of running that day as she ran just behind her mother, the Doctor just to her right and the other four a few feet behind them. Luckily the kitchen was close enough that the group was just beginning to lose their breaths when they all stumbled through the kitchen doors, led by her mother and the Doctor and followed by the rest of them.

“Oh, good. This’ll do.” The Doctor said as they gathered around one side of the stainless steel island taking up most of the center of the room. The only outlier was the boss man, who instead came to stand on the other side of it as he attempted to catch his breath. “Okay, thinking. We need to be quick, the spiders are moving fast. Why is this hotel the epicenter of spider activity?”

Before anyone could even attempt to answer, they were cut off, interrupted by the man on the other side of the counter. “Wait! Nobody talk until you tell me what you’re all doing here!” He commanded. Attempted to command, Yaz amended as she saw the Doctor step up and look him in the eyes.

“Spiders?” He asked her, his voice having calmed to just louder than a normal inside voice. “Plural?”

“Very plural.” The Doctor concurred before placing her palms against the counter and leaning across it, closer to the man on the other side. “I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are.”

“Oh, well, you must be the only person on the planet who doesn’t.” He scoffed, and Yaz did as well, although likely for very different reasons. She still got the feeling she recognized him but she has yet to put her finger on it.

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “Are you Ed Sheeran?” She turned to Yaz. “Is he Ed Sheeran? Everyone talks about Ed Sheeran roundabout now, don’t they?”

“I am not Ed Sheeran!” He cut in, sounding quite offended at the blonde’s continued ignorance of his name and status. Yaz watched as the Doctor just looked back at him, completely unfazed at his outburst. “I am Jack Robertson and this is my hotel. Just one hotel in an incredibly successful chain of hotels, which is just one small part of my business portfolio as featured in Fortune Global 500. Does that,” He gestured condescendingly through his sentence. “Ring a bell?” 

Yaz nearly laughed at the utterly unimpressed look on the Doctor’s face when the blonde turned to her. “Should I look impressed right now, is that impressive?”

Yaz just shook her head, allowing that to speak for itself and reveling in the irritation that flashed over Robertson’s face. She just smirked back at the glare he sent her way.

“He’s running for president in 2020.” Graham explained.

“Ed Sheeran?”

“No! Him. Robertson. Aren’t you?” Robertson brushed him off slightly before attempting to change the subject.

“Well, I haven’t declared by intentions yet but look, we’re talking about _spiders._ ” His lip curled in disgust at the word.

“See, typical politician, avoiding the question.” Yaz saw Ryan nodding along to Graham’s words in agreement.

“I am not a politician – I am a businessman and I know how to run things.”

“I heard you’re only running because you’ve ‘hated Trump for decades’.” Jade cut in bluntly. Yaz looked back at Robertson and watched him raise his finger at her in a sort of faux scolding and he worked to quell be surge of quiet hatred Yaz felt from him.

“Please don’t mention that name.” Jade shot them a bemused look, just shaking her head at the man’s response until he continued on. “Look, I was just attacked by a spider the size of a bath tub, and it’s all _her_ fault!” He sneered at Najia and Yaz sent him a scathing look, just about ready to cut in.

“I told you,” Yaz could tell her mother was amused even through her professional façade. “I know nothing about this.”

“Mum, don’t even talk to him. He _fired_ you.” Yaz implored, offended on her mother’s behalf.

The Doctor’s own expression shifted into outrage as she turned back to Robertson with wide eyes. “What? He didn’t… You didn’t. You can’t be president if you fire Yaz’s mum.”

“It’s Najia.” Even through the inflection of irritation in the correction Yaz could tell her mother was grateful for the defense on her behalf.

“I hate spiders.” Robertson informed them. “ _Phobia_ hate.” He emphasized, prompting Ryan’s own addition to the conversation.

“Oh, man, me too. And there’s loads of them knocking about right now.”

“I will not have them in my hotel.” Robertson said as if they were nothing more than a group of rowdy teenagers he wanted escorted off the premises.

“I mean, you’re running for president.” Graham cut in. “It could be espionage, you know, targeted at you-”

“By Russians!” Ryan finished, far too excited about their theory. Yaz shared a look with her mother before rolling her eyes at Roberton’s response.

“That’s possible.” He conceded. “There are a lot of people that would like to see me dead.”

“Funny, that.” Najia quipped to Yaz’s surprise. Although, she’d have been lying if she said she wasn’t thinking that exact thing. Great minds, she supposes.

“See?” Robertson said, gesturing at her mother as she proved his point. Yaz’s eyes narrowed in incredulity as this man, usually so easily offended, didn’t even blink at her mother’s easily offensive statement.

“They don’t _need_ giant spiders.” Jade said, and Yaz was realizing she likely had quite the knowledge of spiders the more she spoke. “They could just pop a tiny, poisonous one on your pillow.” Yaz raised her eyebrow, amused as Robertson’s face paled just slightly and she could see Ryan shudder out of the corner of her eye.

“You’ve… Got to stop saying stuff like that.” The woman just shrugged, unphased at the present conversation.

“So, what do we do?” Yaz finally asked, turning to the Doctor in an attempt to gauge her thoughts. The Doctor opened her mouth to answer her but was silenced before she could continue. They all turned towards Robertson as he spoke.

“Why are you asking her?” He demanded, and they looked at him, his audacity getting on the last of their nerves.

“Cuz she’s in charge, bro.” Ryan told him, figuring it would have been obvious. Yaz figured that too, especially at the man’s apparent fear of spiders and the Doctor’s peculiar presence. She could see he was no leader. A dictator, perhaps, but not a leader.

“Says who?”

“Says us!” Yaz heard the two boys say in unison with her, Robertson finally waving them off in reluctant acceptance although he was far from okay with the turn of events.

“How do you all know each other?” Yaz turned to her mother, astonished that she would even think to ask something like that in that moment.

“Mum! Not now!” Yaz pleaded in hopes her mother would listen to her for once and leave it be. She sighed in relief as Najia made a noise of dismay but did not otherwise continue her line of questioning.

“Right, we need two things.” The Doctor cut in. “Plans of the hotel and a captive spider.” Looks were shared at the final request until all eyes ended up on Robertson, who was pacing in front of them until he registered the silence. He looked over at them warily and Yaz could pinpoint the exact moment he registered the Doctor’s plan.

“I’m not getting near the spider.”

“Fine,” Graham said, rolling his eyes. “We will go get the spider.” He told them, placing his hand on Ryan’s shoulder as the boy’s ever dark skin paled at the idea.

“What?” Ryan squeaked, his voice octaves higher than it should ever be.

The Doctor continued on regardless. “Great. The rest of us will look for the hotel plans then. Break!” Yaz rolled her eyes at the reference but was quick to follow after the blonde anyway as they ran back out through the doors and into the hallway.

It was with one look from the blonde that Robertson heaved a great sigh and moved to the front to lead the way to where Yaz assumed his office would be located.

Once they entered the office the Doctor quickly pulled out her sonic and unlocked the filing cabinet that was placed against the far wall behind the desk, ignoring the dismayed sounds from Robertson as he watched her dig through his files. The blonde rifled through the dozens of folders for a moment before pulling out a few that presumably held what she was looking for, laying them out on the desk in front of her.

Yaz allowed herself to sit in the chair placed in front of the desk, her mother opting to stand just behind her even though there was another seat to Yaz’s immediate right. She watched the Doctor shuffle through the folders until she found what she was looking for, slipping the papers out from the folder and placing them over the top of it instead.

“Now, hotel plans. Let’s see.” The blonde’s eyes quickly scanned over the blue prints in front of her and Yaz could tell she was taking in quite a lot of information from it. Robertson moved behind the desk as well and looked over the plans himself.

“That can’t be accurate. It doesn’t even have my panic room marked on it.” Yaz looked at him, a severe look on her face as she shook her head, amazed at the man’s arrogance and pretension. She was joined by the equally unamused looks of both the Doctor and her mother as Robertson continued to look at the plans, unaware of the grievous looks he was receiving from all sides.

The Doctor took a breath. “Any issues with spiders before today, Najia?” She asked, turning towards the woman in question. “Here or at home?”

“My home?” Najia asked, shock and confusion washing over her as she looked between Yaz and the blonde standing across from her.

“One of your neighbors had a spider problem.” The Doctor explained, and Yaz could tell she was omitting a few details, prompting a curiosity that Yaz filed away to ask about at a more convenient time. “And the link between the two places is you.” Yaz was already shaking her head, catching the Doctor’s attention and communicating her meaning to her through facial expression and a finger grazing across her temple.

 _It’s not her,_ it said, realization washing over the Doctor’s face as she understood was Yaz was trying to share with her.

It didn’t escape Najia’s attention, however, and the woman looked between Yaz and the Doctor suspiciously, even as Robertson began pestering her at the opportunity the Doctor had given to him.

“I knew it. And I’m going to litigate you until your last breath, _Nadia._ ”

“It’s Najia, and I’ve done nothing.” Her attention was still on her daughter, who shook her head pleadingly. Her mother ignored her this time, opting to turn to the Doctor instead. “I’m sorry, but who are you?” She finally asked.

“How do you know my daughter? Why haven’t I met you before?” Yaz cut in before she could ask any further questions.

“Mum. Not now.”

Her mother turned to her, apparently fed up with the secrecy from her daughter. “Yes, now.” She stated, facing the Doctor once more. “It isn’t a difficult question.”

“But it is a bit of a long answer.” The Doctor replied, shuffling through the papers in front of her once more.

“Well, I’ve got time.”

“But I haven’t. Not right now.” The blonde’s tone left no room for a counterargument as she shared a look with Yaz, blowing a brief puff of air from her nose before turning back to the task in front of her.

Yaz should have known her mother’s silence wouldn’t last, especially when it comes to her safety, but shock rushed through her at Najia’s next question.

“Are you two seeing each other?”

Yaz let out a disbelieving scoff, burying her face in her hands in embarrassment. She heard the Doctor stop shuffling around and lifted her head to see the woman standing stock still, shock coloring her expression as her gaze flicked between Yaz and her mother.

“I don’t think so…” The blonde’s eyes finally stuck on Yaz. “…Are we?” Yaz nearly face palmed, just barely holding in a groan at the woman’s confused question. She stared at her just a moment longer before finally turning to Najia.

“We’re friends!” She exclaimed in hopes that her mother would believe her, although from the look she was receiving, she knew it was unlikely.

The Doctor hummed at the answer, quickly turning back to the files in a way that was needlessly suspicious, although her aura did flicker with _something_ Yaz couldn’t quite focus on while under her mother’s spotlight. Najia’s own suspicion was obvious as she watched the Doctor’s reaction to Yaz’s answer.

“I owe the Doctor my life.” Yaz continued. “Quite a few times over.”

“What’s that even supposed to mean?”

“Can we not have this conversation now?” Yaz’s eyes flicked over her shoulder and landed on Robertson, who had been watching the exchange in thinly veiled amusement. “And not in front of him.”

“Oh, I’m enjoying this.” He jeered, his lip curling up mockingly.

Yaz had to take a deep breath, willing her eyes not to glow but looking down and closing them for a moment anyway as she felt her powers buzzing protectively below the surface of her skin. Once she was sure she had it under control, she looked back at him, a dark glare making it’s way onto her face.

She finally allowed herself to look back at her mother, who had been watching her try to calm down. The woman opened her mouth and Yaz tensed up in preparation for another invading question about the Doctor. Before she could, however, the Doctor finally cut back in, and Yaz breathed out a sigh of relief, although she still knew she’d have to have a conversation with her mother later on.

She could handle that. Probably…

“How long did it take you to build this hotel?” The Doctor asked Robertson, although Yaz could detect the slight coldness the blonde’s voice had taken on since Robertson’s imprudent comments.

“Five years.” He said, either not noticing or ignoring the inflection in the Doctor’s voice entirely, though Yaz wouldn’t be surprised if she was the only one that could pick up on the Doctor’s coldness towards the man. One look at her mother proved her to be right when her expression was still the same as it had been during the last few conversations.

“We have fifteen of these hotels throughout the world now. Repurposing former industrial sites into luxury leisure venues.” He further explained.

Yaz watched the Doctor’s face shift as her eyes narrowed at the man. “Repurposing? What was the site before?”

The blonde shocked Robertson with the question, Yaz knew, watching as the man floundered for an answer. “I don’t have… clarity on that.” He blundered through his explanation.

“I do.” Yaz’s head whipped around in surprise to look at her mother, who was smirking a knowing smile at them. “Coal mines. This was mining land.”

Robertson shrunk a bit as various expressions of contempt shifted towards him.

“Come on,” The Doctor said, her gaze moving away from the man as she picked up the hotel plans before her and handed them off to Najia. “We’re going down into the mines.”

* * *

“We’ve just passed the entrance to the back of the spa.” Najia barely looked up from the plans spread out between her hands, only paying enough attention to her surroundings to keep from bumping into the walls of the narrow hallway they were being led down. “We should be here now.”

“You’re not going down there. It’s too dangerous.” Robertson forbade them from where he walked behind them, moping about the fact that they were yet to listen to his various warnings he attempted on their way down.

“I eat danger for breakfast.” The Doctor stated, prompting Yaz to turn to her with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t, I prefer cereal.” The blonde revealed, leaning closer to Yaz as they walked through a particularly narrow part of the hallway. “Or croissants. Or, these little fried Portuguese- Never mind, it’s not important.” She cut herself off at Yaz’s strangely attentive expression.

Yaz only caught sight of the doors to the mining tunnels for a second before she was distracted by a satisfied exclamation from Robertson as he pushed through them to come out in front. She watched as he come up on the door and pointed at one of the many signs Yaz could see plastered around the front of it.

“Ah! See? ‘Keep out, danger of death’!” He read out loud. “You are not _authorized_ to go in there.”

“Dude, I have all the authorization I need.” Yaz watched as the Doctor pulled her sonic out of her coat pocket once more and, with a single wave of it, unlocked the heavy door in front of them. She shared a proud smile with Yaz. “I call people dude now.” Yaz just raised her eyebrows, amused at the Doctor’s brass.

Yaz turned her head just as she heard footsteps coming down the hall and tensed up, only relaxing when she recognized Jade, the strange woman who Yaz was noticing had quite the extensive knowledge of spiders.

“Doctor!” Jade called out, bringing the Doctor’s attention away from the door. “I need to speak to you.”

“We need to do it as we walk.” The blonde said, reaching for the door handle. “There something in here people want to keep locked away.” A meaningful glance was given to Robertson just before she pushed the door open, immediately walking through and leaving the others to follow.

“Oh sure, it’s a party, everyone can come!” Robertson said, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

He was ignored as Jade stepped past him with an equally sarcastic, “Thanks!” Yaz followed soon after with a scathing smile and was quick to pull her mother through after her before Robertson could try to stop her.

It was nearly pitch black inside the cave once the doors were close but Yaz could see well enough to see a control panel attached to the wall and enclosed in a small metal box. She was swift in reaching over to open the box and flip the two levers revealed to her. They watched as lights strung up along the length of both sides of the cave flickered on, providing them with a dim light as they looked around.

“Nice work, Yaz.” The Doctor praised, blinking as her eyes quickly got used to the dull lighting of the cave.

“No, not nice work. None of you are allowed down here.” Robertson persisted and went ignored once again as they made their way deeper into the cave.

“Are all your hotels built on repurposed sites?” The Doctor asked him, although she kept her attention on the semi-darkness in front of them, as did Yaz.

“Well, that’s the business. I mean, every city in the world, big or small, has an area they want repurposed.” He replied, his voice and footsteps much too loud for the quiet of the cave. “Maybe it’s not too pretty, maybe it’s never been used, maybe it’s an industry that’s died. We go in and we help them figure it out. We get a good deal but we give them world class facilities. It’s a win for everybody.”

“A network of mining tunnels could explain how the bigger spiders are moving.” The Doctor hypothesized. “The question is, does that make your hotel their target, or their base?”

They stopped walking for a moment. Paused in the quiet of the cave surrounding them.

“What’s that smell?” Najia asked, her nose scrunching up in distaste. Yaz had noticed it too, an unpleasant smell permeating the air around them. The others gave hesitant sniffs and Yaz watched the grimaces form on their faces as well.

The Doctor took a few steps forward, Yaz following closely behind. Her eyes widened as she saw what the blonde saw and the others weren’t far behind. Yaz recalled words that the Doctor had spoken before, that they were flies in relation to the spider, and it was in that moment that Yaz truly believed her.

A closer look illustrated just how right they were as they looked at the sight before them. Yaz could compare them to a sort of webbed chrysalis in shape as well as the way they were hanging from the ceiling in front of them.

“What are they?” Najia asked, although Yaz was sure she already knew just from the weakness in her voice. Yaz watched as the Doctor stepped towards them and then grimaced as she touched one, digging her fingers in and peeling away the layers of webbing near the bottom of the cocoon.

“Oh, my God.” Robertson whispered at the sight of the face that was revealed to them. The Doctor stepped back to allow him a better look.

“Do you know who this is?” She asked, gesturing towards the opened chrysalis.

“Her name is Frankie.” He explained, looking at the body with something akin to regret washing over his face. “Look what they _did_ to her.”

“Why are they in cocoons?” Najia asked again, apprehension pouring off her in waves as they stand in the midst of webs blanketing the walls around them.

“My guess is they’re being stored as food.” The Doctor didn’t take her eyes off the webs encasing the woman apparently named Frankie.

“Spiders don’t eat people.” Jade said as though trying to convince them as well as herself.

“I said they’re being stored, they haven’t eaten them.” The Doctor clarified, finally turning to look at them. “They’re outsized and confused. All their behavioral patterns have been disrupted. How do they get like this?”

Yaz caught sight of her mother slowly stalking off in another direction, deeper into the cave and resolved to keep an eye on her as she continued listening to the verbal volley between the Doctor and the apparent spider expert.

“It doesn’t make any sense. This is not what spiders do.”

The Doctor moved on to another one of the cocoons hanging from the ceiling and wasted no time in peeling it away from whatever lay within. It was a man this time. A man Yaz recognized as the one who had pointed a gun at her and her mother when they had first arrived. Robertson’s bodyguard, Kevin, she remembered.

“I presume this is Kevin?” The Doctor asked, stepping back with a downtrodden look on her face.

“Yeah…” Robertson looked saddened as he observed his friend encased in webbing.

Yaz had moved slightly to keep sight of her mother as she walked further into the cave, and her eyes widened when she walked a bit deeper and saw what she had found.

“Doctor!” Yaz called out, unable to pull her eyes away from the scape in front of her. She heard the Doctor’s quick footsteps as well as Robertson’s attempt to stop her as she hurried over to stand next to her, her own eyes widening at what she saw.

Looking out, Yaz could see hills of junk and waste stretching out for miles in front of them. A perfect approximation of an underground landfill.

“I suppose that’s what the smell is.” Najia supplied as the rest of the group joined them at the edge of the tunnel. “It goes on for miles.”

The Doctor pulled out her sonic to scan and was already pulling it up to look at the readings, turning to Robertson when he reached them with barely veiled contempt. “Your hotel’s built on landfill?”

“I have a lot of companies, okay?” He was floundering in an attempt to defend himself from the glowers aimed at him from the four women. “JLR does corporate waste disposal. They’re very efficient and very highly rated internationally.”

“You filled up disused mines with landfill waste and built a luxury hotel on top?” The Doctor asked, appalled at the nerve of the man standing in front of her.

“Smart business planning. Perfect vertical integration.” He looked far too smug about his answer and Yaz shook her head, amazed at the arrogance presented before her.

The Doctor shook her head at his hubris and was quick to shut it down. “Not quite perfect I’m afraid. Not quite efficient. A blocked in site pumping out methane and sulfide and trichloroethylene? Never mind the specialist material that hasn’t been properly preserved.”

Robertson looked at her, disdain clear on his face as it crumpled into a sneer when she kept talking. “A soup of toxic waste _incredibly_ badly managed. I mean, there’s no outlet for it! It’s just building and marinating and becoming more and more toxic.” She ranted, making her feelings on the subject quite clear to the man.

“It’s a botched job.”

“I didn’t know.” Robertson replied in his attempt to escape the blonde’s scrutiny. A lie, Yaz thought.

“Yes, you did.” Najia had been quiet until then, waiting and watching as the conversation progressed. “That’s what she was telling you when I saw you. That woman, Frankie.”

Once again, he attempted to brush off the blatant challenge from the woman, but she continued on.

“She was telling you that the site is unsafe.”

He groaned as she finished, something of acceptance washing over his face, although Yaz knew he wasn’t done trying to pull himself out of the hole he’d dug. “Okay, alright. You’re right.” He still tried to defend himself as though he had any chance of redemption. “That’s why I came here. Apparently JLR was a little overzealous in cutting corners and worried about keeping the bottom line instead of doing the right thing. But,” And Yaz rolled her eyes at this.

“I just sign the contract, okay? I expect other people to do their jobs. This is not on me.”

“Don’t you even care?” The Doctor glared at him, dangerous in the way she questioned him.

“Look, I’m gonna pay you all off anyway, you’ll never have to work again.” The blonde’s face screwed up in annoyance as she looked out in front of them again.

“I like working. And do you know the worst thing?” Najia asked, staring Robertson down and waiting for an answer she would not allow him time to give. “It’s that this is leaking out above here. It’s in my kitchen!” She looks at the Doctor. “My husband’s right, it is a conspiracy.” Her gaze shifts back to Robertson, annoyance coloring her tone. “Do you have any idea how annoying it is when my husband is right?”

“Look, I’ve never even been down here. It doesn’t even add up.”

Yaz watched as realization watched over Jade’s face as she looked out at all the landfill. “Yes, it does. It does for me.” She said, nodding her head where Yaz could tell pieces of a puzzle were falling into place. Jade turned to the Doctor and was quick in her explanation. “JLR takes the waste from out lab.” A scientist, then. “Our aborted experiments and… Our spider carcasses.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened in her own stroke of realization. “And they’re all in there.” She gestured at the piles in front of them. “Your spider carcasses in _his_ toxic waste!”

“Not my fault! I didn’t know anything about spider carcasses.” Robertson’s further attempts at absolving himself only ended with varying looks of upset aimed towards him.

“ _’Course_ you didn’t.” Jade glared at him. “You don’t know anything. You just avoid taking any responsibility.” He could keep the eye contact under her intense stare and was forced to look away, the guilt hidden from his expression but obvious in his actions.

“I’m running through our work, stuff we shut down.” Jade continued. “Spiders bioengineered for stronger cobwebs, prolonged life.”

“Bigger spiders can keep growing. As _long_ as they live.” Reluctant understanding was forming on the Doctor’s face as she began putting the pieces together herself.

“What if,” Jade asked. “What if our waste included something we thought was dead but was still _just_ alive?”

“And with enough food in all that waste to survive, and enough toxicity to mutate and _to keep on growing._ ” The Doctor was able to finish for her, her own mind racing ahead at the possibilities of all the information just presented to her.

It was with one more look at the waste in front of them that the Doctor turned back. “Come on,” She started, already walking back the way they came. “Let’s head back to the kitchen.” Yaz shared a look with her mother and was quick to gently push her ahead of herself as they walked away from the edge of the cave.

The walk back up to the kitchen was silent, with nobody wanting to be the one to break it. It didn’t particularly matter, either, as in the eeriness of the hotel hallways the atmosphere itself was enough for them to not want to make too much noise.

Every once in a while some would startle slightly, or Yaz could be sure that she heard a quiet scuttling from somewhere around the corner as they made their way back upstairs. She breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached the familiar doors of the kitchen, allowing everyone else to walk through before she herself did.

She was relieved for just a moment as she saw Graham and Ryan stumble through the doors on the opposite side of the room, but she was soon filled with a different kind of stress as she watched them tumble through the doors, out of breath and obviously frightened.

“Massive spider in the ballroom!” Ryan told them, bracing his hands on his knees as he attempted to catch his breath, Graham doing the same just behind him.

“How massive?” The Doctor asked.

“Size… Of a large van…” Graham explained while still trying to pull in deeper breaths to fill his lungs with the necessary amount of oxygen.

“Wow, that is massive.” The blonde needlessly repeated Ryan’s earlier words.

“That must be the mother,” Jade speculated. “And the rest are the babies. Some stayed here, some went out into the city, their pheromones disrupting the spider ecosystem and causing other spiders to behave abnormally.”

“Of course.” The Doctor whispered to herself as everything finally came together in her mind. Yaz watched as she turned to her mother. “Najia, you were never the link…” Said woman glared at Robertson, satisfied and relieved that he was finally proven wrong.

The blonde turned back to Jade. “Your friend, Anna, what if she had the same pheromones on her? Accidentally calling out to a spider that had gone out hunting from the hotel! All these spiders answering the same call, because in the end, every living thing has the same instinct. To come back home.”

“That’s all very touching, but there’s a plague in my hotel!” Robertson’s overly aggressive voice cut into their conversation once more, surprising absolutely nobody. “And it needs to be fixed!”

The Doctor stared back at him. “Show me your panic room.” She demanded, tone of voice leaving no room for argument, even from Robertson. Yaz could see the man weighing between going against the blonde or deciding to listen to her for once. She saw his answer only seconds later as he heaved a great sigh, not saying anything more as he turned around and led the way out of the kitchen.

If possible, the hallways were even more ominous than the last time they trekked through them. Yaz kept her attention on the area around them, not quite enjoying the silence filling the atmosphere as they walked down a flight of stairs. Unfortunately, Robertson’s panic room was on the lower, darker levels that Yaz wasn’t altogether comfortable with.

They walked through the dark hallways until they came upon a large door, big and locked. Just as the Doctor preferred. Yaz watched as Robertson leaned forward, lining up his face with a camera-like scanner that resided in the very center of the door. She regarded the scanner with narrowed eyes as it blinked and flashed in front of Robertson’s face in a way that was sure to be blinding.

Once it was done, they heard a series of low clicks signalling the unlocking of the mechanism that was doing it’s job of keeping the door shut. Robertson leaned forward and took hold of the lever, swiftly lifting it up and finally swinging it open. The open door revealed exactly what Yaz would think of when asked about a rich man’s panic room.

She watched as each of them besides the Doctor entered, Yaz herself only entering first at the blonde’s insistence. Even then, Yaz hovered by the door until the Doctor walked in as well and made sure to shut the door behind them, grunting against the weight of it as she swung it closed and slid the various locks in place as well.

“My lockdown palace.” Robertson was gesturing at the room around them with both hands when Yaz turned to face him with everyone else. “I have one in every hotel, just in case it’s needed. Not finished yet, but still.”

“What’s in the boxes?” Ryan asked, scanning over the boxes that took up a large amount of the room’s area. Yaz looked over them as well, catching the Doctor doing her own investigating out of the corner of her eye.

“Food, water, entertainment system.” Robertson shrugged. “A book. I could survive in here for six months if I needed to. And I’ve got a huge stash of weapons.” His tone of voice showed his pride over that particular belonging of his. “Enough for all of us. Enough for two guns a piece.”

Yaz could already feel the Doctor gearing up for an argument.

“Oh, mate, she’s not going to like that,” Ryan said, pointing his thumb behind him at the woman already stepping forward. The Doctor gently pushed through between Yaz and Ryan, although Yaz could see the cockiness in the stance she took when she stood in front of Robertson.

“No, I’m not.” The blonde agreed. “You are not shooting those creatures.”

“They are mutants.”

“Caused by you.” Jade called out.

“Your carcasses, lady, not mine.” Robertson volleyed back and Yaz saw the irritation wash over the scientist’s face.

“Whatever happened, there are living, _breathing_ organisms out there and we treat them with dignity.” The Doctor cut off the impending argument before it could take root, turning her back to Robertson to face her friends. “So, here’s what we’re gonna do-.”

“Shoot ‘em!”

“We’re not gonna shoot them!” The Doctor whipped around at the interruption, quick to shut the man down after his unnecessary intrusion.

“What’s wrong with you people? What is wrong with this country?” Robertson got up in the Doctor’s face and Yaz was swift in her movement to stand behind the Doctor, her own protective instincts flaring up even as she knew she couldn’t do anything that the man wouldn’t be able to use against her later. Yaz imagined that Robertson was exactly the kind of person her mother was worried about regarding her powers, and Yaz can understand that.

“Why don’t you do what normal people do? Get a gun and shoot things like a civilized person.”

“Because I’ve got a much better idea.” The Doctor blatantly rolled her eyes at Robertson, not even bothering to conceal her irritation as she turned back to her friends. “Spiders are roaming this hotel searching for food. We’re gonna lure them in here with the promise of food, then deal with the spider mother in the ballroom.”

“Ah,” Yaz looked at the blonde, assuming she had more to add to the plan. “That sounds like the best novel Edith Wharton ever wrote.” Yaz was disappointed, shaking her head at the completely unrelated tidbit, which she was realizing the Doctor was quite prone to when she got nervous.

“Once they’re in here, what happens?” Najia cut in, looking between the Doctor and Jade, the latter taking the initiative to answer.

“We shut them in and isolate them.”

“You’re going to let spiders use my panic room?” Disbelief colored the rich man’s tone.

“They deserve a human, natural death.” Jade said with resolution.

“Shooting’s quicker.” Robertson continued on anyway through the disagreement of the rest of the room.

Yaz’s eyes flickered to Graham as the man heaved a sigh. “So how are we going to lure them?” He asked, bringing them back to the Doctor’s plan.

“Spiders gravitate to their food through vibration.” The Doctor informed them and looked their way hopefully. “Any ideas?”

Is was silent for a moment as all of the room’s occupants exchanged looks communicating their combined lack of suggestions, but it was broken by Ryan as awareness flashed across his face.

“Easy!” He said, quickly turning to Yaz. “Raze? Am I right?” Yaz just stared at him, eyebrows raised and her eyes flicking to the others confused expressions before landing back on Ryan.

“I don’t know what you’re saying.” She admitted, shrugging her shoulders at the dismay that made it’s way onto the boy’s face at her reveal.

“Yaz, you’re so uncool right now.” She glared at him even if he couldn’t see her as he walked away from her while shaking his head in disappointment. She watched as he kneeled down next to the large speaker system situated as the front of the room, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he did so and swiping across the screen to unlock it.

He tapped at the screen for a few seconds, likely connecting his phone to the speaker so he wouldn’t have to leave it there. The rest of them leant forward in anticipation.

It didn’t last.

They all flinched back as what Yaz had no problem classifying as the worst music she had ever heard flowed loudly out of the speakers. The bass from the song was utterly ridiculous as Yaz could feel the ground vibrating from the sheer ferocity of it. She shared a surprised look with the Doctor and shrugged her shoulders. She supposed the vibrations from that awful music would be enough to attract the spiders.

Yaz almost laughed when she saw Graham holding his hands against his ears in a futile attempt to block out the song radiating through the speakers and was utterly relieved when the Doctor finally ushered them out of the room and back into the caves.

“Alright. Robertson, you wait until all the spiders are _inside_ the panic room before you close the door. And, please, refrain from shooting them.” The man glared at her, obviously about to argue but was instead cut off when the blonde continued to delegate between the rest of them. “Graham, you and Jade make sure everything stays on track and that all the spiders are away from the upper floors.” She turned to the remaining three. “You three, come with me, I have an idea about how to deal with the mother spider.”

They split off soon after that, each of them running off to take up their posts in their respective areas, Robertson staying in the basement, Graham and Jade running off to make sure the upper levels are clear, and the other three running up the stairs behind the Doctor, following her quick steps and working to keep up with her.

“Alright, you three, into the spa. Get as many bottles of essential oil as you can.” The Doctor slowed and allowed them to pass just as they reached the indoor pool, readying herself to head in the opposite direction.

Yaz raised an eyebrow as she walked past the blonde. “What are we gonna do, spa it into submission?” She quipped, not at all surprised at the Doctor’s answer.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Yaz just nodded and faced forward again, allowing the Doctor to run back the other way to enact whatever job she had for herself.

The three of them were quick to start digging around once they reached the spa, each of them grabbing whatever bottles they could see contained the oils the Doctor asked for. As they turned around to begin heading back, Najia paused for a moment, looking between the two standing on either side of her with an almost hopeful smile on her face that Yaz didn’t notice until too late.

“So, are you two…?”

Yaz met Ryan’s eyes, sharing a look of equal distaste at the suggestion.

“…No.” They said in unison, and her mother must have seen the honest aversion they both had to the idea because the smile dropped of her face immediately after their answer, disappointment strong enough that Yaz could feel it.

“Oh.” Yaz just shook her head at her mother and gestured for her to lead the way back to the kitchen, only following after Ryan when started walking as well.

The Doctor was already there when they returned, already mixing various things together in the large tanks she had managed to get ahold of, each equipped with their own spray nozzle and likely from one of the many supply closets scattered throughout the building. She looked over at them as they entered, face brightening at the large supply of oils they carried in their arms and placed down a bit further along on the counter.

“Excellent. Well done.” The Doctor praised them, already reaching for the first bottle of oil, quickly unscrewing the cap and dumping the contents into the first tank in front of her. Yaz watched as she did the same with the rest of the tanks, swirling them slightly to mix the substance more thoroughly when she picked them up.

As she was doing so, the others made their return and were there to accept the tanks as the Doctor handed one to each of them. Once Yaz was handed hers she was quick in slipping her arms through the straps affixed to it. As she was doing her task, she vaguely registered that they were still missing one of their group but was much too distracted by the matter at hand to truly realize it.

“Alright.” The Doctor said, strapping her own tank on her back and gripping the nozzle in her right hand. “Let’s head to the ballroom. I’ll fill you in along the way.”

The ballroom was closer than Yaz thought and that made her about as uncomfortable as you’d think when realizing how close you actually were to the giant spider gallivanting through the hotel hallways.

The Doctor was first in their lineup, with Yaz not far behind and the other four scattered a bit unevenly behind them. Coming up on the ballroom doors, the Doctor looked back at them in an attempt to gauge their readiness for the situation. Glad at the varying degrees of determination on her friend’s faces, she moved her hand to lay over the handle and pushed it open, peeking her head inside before opening it fully, endeavoring to ensure her friend’s safety.

Deeming it as acceptable as it could be, the Doctor made her way further into the room, scanning their surroundings, attempting to catch sight of the large spider she knew was locked in there. Yaz followed shortly after and began looking around herself, perhaps subconsciously using her powers just the slightest bit to make it a little easier.

They all froze as they looked through the darkness at the far wall, their eyes coming to land on what Yaz could confidently say was the largest spider she had ever seen and ever would see in her life.

“Ooh. Very big spider.” The Doctor agreed with Yaz’s unspoken thoughts as they began walking towards the spider. Slower, this time.

“What have we got?” Ryan asked, referring to the tanks they still carried on their backs as he sniffed it experimentally.

“Peppermint and tea tree oil diluted with water. Spider repellant.” The blonde explained. “I’m hoping this’ll help us herd it out.”

“You want us to herd out a giant spider?” Graham asked, nonchalantly in a way that Yaz may have believed if she couldn’t feel the fear pouring off the man as they walked closer to the spider still adhered to the far wall. “They’re attacking people.” He pointed out.

“Stop a second.” Jade cut in, startling them all into stopping their advance on the creature as the scientist came to stand next to the Doctor. “Can you see that?”

Yaz watched the Doctor narrow her eyes slightly in an attempt to take a closer look in the darkness of the room before they widened again and realization crossed her face. Yaz looked too and thought she could figure what they were seeing. The spider seemed to be struggling just to stay upright, scrambling to find purchase against the wall as they advanced on her once more.

“She’s grown too big.” The Doctor realized.

“She’s suffocating.” Jade looked over at the spider, a sadness washing over her that was obvious to all present in the moment. “She’s got too big to breathe efficiently. Even moving around in here, it’s using up what little oxygen she’s able to absorb. She won’t survive for long. She’s more scared of us than we are of her.”

Yaz watched the Doctor sigh, her sadness better hidden but still obvious to Yaz through their connection. “I’m so sorry this has happened to you.” The blonde spoke to the spider, the truthfulness of the statement clear in her expression.

“So, what do we do?” Graham asked, frowning as he watched the spider struggle in front of them. “Just leave her?”

The Doctor opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by the sound of a door swinging open with a loud crash, startling the group into looking back for the source of it. They were met with the sight of Robertson, and Yaz widened as she realized he had a gun in his right hand, already up and aimed.

Ever protective, Yaz was quick to shove her mother behind her once more, shielding her with her own body before realizing that the gun wasn’t pointing at them at all. Rather, it was pointing _above_ them, right at the spider still floundering against the doors.

“No! Don’t!” The pleading yell was not enough to stop the gunshot reverberating through the room and Yaz flinched back at the spider’s pained screech that filled the air after. She could only watch as the spider finally hit the ground, flailing it’s legs around in an attempt to get it’s footing back.

“Put the gun down!” The Doctor yelled as Robertson began advancing on the spider again, coming to stand only feet away from the downed arachnid. “She wasn’t even a threat, she was dying anyway.”

“Ah, well, then it’s a mercy killing.” Yaz was surprised at the expression that overtook the blonde’s face as she whipped her head around to face the shooter. It was a sort of dark anger that Yaz hadn’t seen before. _Or felt,_ she thought as she felt the anger coming off the woman in waves.

“I don’t see any mercy in you.” The Doctor growled.

Robertson was taken aback by the anger as well, but he recovered quickly through sheer arrogance. “I don’t need your approval, Doctor. This is what the world needs right now.” Their glares clashed heavily. “This is what’s going to get me into the white house.”

Yaz watched as the Doctor’s mouth curled into a sneer, although she didn’t say anything more as the man walked away from them, a white-knuckled grip on the gun still in his hold.

“God help us all.” Graham said stonily as they watched Robertson leave.

The darkness in the Doctor’s expression disappeared as soon as the man was gone, but Yaz was still curious about the full story behind that steely glare she had aimed at Robertson. She kept quiet, and instead watched as the Doctor turned back to kneel next to the now unmoving spider, reaching out as if to touch it but pulling back at the last second, instead folding her hands together and resting them in her lap.

Yaz blinked at the sudden rush of sadness and guilt that rolled off the Doctor. She took a few steps forward, taking the tank of spider repellant off her back and placing it quietly on the ground before coming to kneel at the Doctor’s side.

At the sight of the Doctor’s crumpled expression, her gaze unmoving from the motionless creature in front of them, Yaz allowed herself to reach out, hesitant in her slow moments towards the Doctor. She gently peeled one of the blonde’s hands away from the other, a harder feat than the thought, and gripped it tightly in both of hers, registering the presence of the others still stood a few yards behind them but grateful when they didn’t try to approach them.

Yaz wasn’t quite sure why the Doctor was so upset over the loss of the spider, but she could guess it was from something a bit deeper than just this one animal. Regardless, she waited for the Doctor to finally look at her as she registered the tight grip her hand was trapped in before allowing herself to slip into the blonde’s mind, offering a small amount of comfort with her presence.

 _Okay?_ She asked, smiling slightly when the Doctor’s eyes softened after seeing her hand wrapped warmly in both of Yaz’s. The Doctor sighed, locking their gazes once more.

 _Yeah._ The Doctor told her. _I’m okay._ She still looked saddened but Yaz could already feel it lessening into something more bearable as the woman allowed a weak smile.

The blonde stood up after that, and Yaz allowed herself to be pulled to her feet by the grip the Doctor kept on one of her hands.

“Okay, Doc?” Graham prompted, looking over at them with a gentle smile on his face.

The Doctor’s eyes lingered on Yaz a moment more before she shifted them to land on the man. “Yeah.” She told him, smiling. “Thanks, Graham.” Her eyes slid over the rest of them even as she kept her hold on Yaz’s hand and breathed a deep sigh.

“Right.” She said. “Ready to head out?”

Everyone was quick to agree.

* * *

They each returned to their respective homes after having left the Doctor with promises to come see her before she planned on leaving that evening. Yaz was digging around her kitchen, looking for the bread her sister was supposed to get but was nowhere to be found. She sighed, already agitated with her family as she looked towards where they sat around the kitchen table.

“There’s no bread.” Yaz stated, watching her family as she braced herself against the counter.

“Sonya.” Her father reprimanded the girl. “I said get some more.”

Sonya barely looked up from her phone. “Why are you blaming me? Could’ve been Yaz.” She defended, prompting Yaz to roll her eyes and take a deep breath in an attempt to alleviate the irritation her family supplied her with.

“I’ll go to the shop.” Yaz offered, already reaching for her keys.

“Oh, thanks, love.” Her mother said, getting up and following her into the entryway, pinning her daughter with a meaningful look. “And when you get back, you can tell me the truth about how you know the Doctor?”

Yaz sighed, nodding her head at Najia’s prompting. “Yeah… When I get back.” She promised, an inflection in her voice her mother didn’t quite pick up on as she turned towards the door, picking up her leather jacket along the way.

She reached for the doorknob, not yet turning it when her hand came to rest on it. Instead, she looked back at her family, watching them with a gentle smile as they softly conversed in the warm light from the small chandelier hanging above them. She took one last look before finally opening the door and stepping out, quick steps taking her down the hall to the elevators.

When Yaz reached the blue police box she was beginning to find oh so familiar, she was glad to see that Ryan and Graham had arrived near the same time as the three of them came to a stop just outside the front doors. She looked at the two boys, gauging their thoughts in the moment.

“What do you think?” She prompted, a knowing smile on her face.

Ryan answered first, chuckling at her question. “I think… I’m not quite ready to give all this up.” Yaz looked to Graham and tilted her head as an inflection of the same question.

“I think it’ll be good for me. For us,” He added, gesturing towards Ryan as well. “Good for us to get out of the house for a while, you know?” Yaz nodded, understanding exactly what the man was going for.

“Ready?” She asked, gesturing towards the bright blue doors and, after twin nods from Ryan and Graham, reaching out to push them open with a gentle creak.

The Doctor looked over at them at the noise, straightening up from where she had been leant over tinkering with the console. Yaz came to a stop just short of the stairs leading up to the console with the boys stopping just behind her on either side.

“Proper goodbye this time?” Her smile was still sad, although she did a better job of hiding it this time around and, if Yaz wasn’t empathetic, she likely wouldn’t have caught on to it. She gave the Doctor a knowing smile. One that widened when the Doctor looked away at having been caught out, slight embarrassment radiating off her.

Yaz shared a look with the boys.

“About that…” Ryan started.

“Do we have to?” Graham finished with an almost childish affliction. As if he had been told that it was time for him to go to bed. Yaz laughed at the surprise that spread across the Doctor’s face at the question.

“You see, the thing about grief is it needs time.” Graham began. “And I don’t want to sit around my house waiting for it to go away. Cuz that house is full of Grace and that makes it so much harder. But, uh,” He stumbled slightly, clearing his throat before continuing. “Being with you and seeing all these things… It really helps.”

The Doctor stared for a moment, keeping her face blank although Yaz knew she felt excitement beginning to rise in the woman in front of her as she finally moved away from the console, instead moving to stand fully in front of her friends.

“What about you?” Her gaze moved to Ryan, questioning.

“Do you really think I want to go back to working in that warehouse?” He replied, shrugging his shoulders. “No way.”

“Yaz?” The Doctor prompted her this time, the blonde’s hazel eyes boring into her own brown ones. “I thought you wanted to come home?”

“I know.” Yaz acquiesced. “I love my family, but they also drive me completely insane. I want more.” She took a step forward and up the steps, bringing herself up onto the platform just a few feet in front of the Doctor. “More of the universe.” She kept her gaze intense.

“More time with you.”

Yaz watched as the Doctor’s eyes widened, smiling as she added her final point.

“You’re like the best person I’ve ever met.”

She nearly laughed at the surprise in the Doctor’s gaze when their focus is drawn away from each other and towards the boys still standing behind her.

“You’re pretty awesome.” Ryan revealed.

“You’re alright, I suppose.” Yaz scoffed at Graham’s blasé answer, turning her attention back to the woman in front of her.

The Doctor was still holding back, Yaz could tell, her face still kept carefully blank as she looked over the three of them.

“I can’t guarantee that you’re gonna be safe.” She confessed, the severity of the statement clear in her voice.

Yaz gazed back at her steadily, firm in her choice. “We know.”

“Do you? Really?” The Doctor was quick to question. “Because when I pull that lever I’m never quite sure what’s going to happen.”

“That’s okay.” Ryan told her, and she was quick to add on.

“You’re not going to come back as the same people that left here.”

“But that’s alright, I think that’s good.” Graham exclaimed, confused at why she was pushing so hard against them.

But Yaz knew why. Could see it in the fear just barely noticeable to her in the woman’s gaze as she stepped towards them, hazel boring into the three pairs of eyes before her. Could see it in her firm question that came off almost entirely as a statement, wanting them to realize just what it was they were asking.

“Be sure.”

Yaz was first, confident and steady in her answer as her eyes never left the Doctor.

“Sure.” She said, and smiling at the first sign of hope the Doctor allowed on her expression. The corner of her lip just barely curling up, almost unnoticeable if Yaz hadn’t been watching for it.

The blonde’s gaze moved to Graham, who was quick with his answer as well.

“Sure.” He repeated, and again, the Doctor’s lip curled just the slightest bit more, and everyone’s attention finally shifted to Ryan who answered with a nonchalant shrug and an overly casual grin.

“Deffo.”

It was then that the Doctor finally allowed a full smile to spread across her face. A genuine one that lit up her eyes. “Look at you…” She said, and Yaz could almost see the excitement radiating off the woman. “My fam.”

The blonde cringed at herself. “No, still doesn’t quite work. Team TARDIS?” She tried, prompting the three of them to share a look as well as various so-so gestures.

“Ehh… We’ll take that,” Yaz allowed, laughing as the woman nearly jumped up and down in excitement before running over to the console and taking hold of the lever, looking back at them before she pulled it.

“Do you want to do it together?” She asked hopefully. Yaz looked back at the boys briefly, sharing excited smiled before she led the way towards the console, laying her hand over the Doctor’s smaller one. She stared back as she watched the Doctor’s excited grin soften to something more meaningful before returning to it’s previous state as the boys arrived next to them, laying their own hands over the lever in front of them.

“I love this bit.” The blonde informed them, sending them one last grin before she guided them in pulling down the lever, all of them letting go at the same time as they felt the shudder of the TARDIS dematerializing and taking flight all around them.

Yaz’s gaze caught the Doctor’s once more, sharing a secret smile with her until looking away, allowing her eyes to travel away from the woman in front of her and instead scan the ship around them, another private smile forming on her lips at her excitement of joining one of her favorite people in the world what she would soon start to consider as her new home.

Yaz smiled at her slip up. One of her favorite people in the _universe,_ she supposed, realizing her life was suddenly so much _bigger_ than something as small as the world she was used to seeing.

Everything was going to change.


	11. The Tsuranga Conundrum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when the gang uncovers a sonic mine on the junk planet of Seffilun 27, leading to them becoming stranded on a space ship hospital on their way to Resus One when an unexpected and very much unwanted visitor arrives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! This chapter is hella long but I'm moving soon so I'm not sure when I'll be getting the next one out and I thought I'd release one long one before this busy time.   
> This is just over 16,000 words and I hope you enjoy!  
> Review and leave comments!
> 
> Bre

As Yaz looked at her watch she groaned when she realized they had been on a junk planet, in a junk galaxy for well over three hours, using strangely modified metal detectors to dig through piles and piles of junk at the Doctor’s request in the hopes of finding spare parts for the TARDIS.

She could see the blonde woman standing off in the distance on top of her own pile of junk, holding the detector in her hands as her and Graham bickered back and forth. Yaz shook her head, those two were always bickering and, although amusing most of the time, it wasn’t particularly the time for it.

Ryan had been searching just a few yards to Yaz’s right, and they were in the midst of conversation as they distractedly sifted through the junk piles surrounding them.

“How long have we been here?” Ryan asked, swiping the back of his hand against his forehead in hopes of clearing the sweat gathering there before it ended up in his eyes.

Yaz looked at her watch again, squinting to look at it through the darkness. “About four hours.” She groaned, Ryan following soon after. Yaz sighed and tuned back into the conversation between the Doctor and Graham, hoping for at least some entertainment during their scavenger hunt.

“Unless that was Seffilun 59…” Yaz tuned into the tail end of the Doctor’s statement and narrowed her eyes.

“Which one’s this?” Yaz yelled over, allowing her voice to carry across the space between her and the blonde.

“Seffilun 27…” Yaz could practically _hear_ the Doctor scrunching her nose up as she said it. “Maybe 59 is the one with a big pile of these!” She held up the part that they were supposed to be looking for in a showy gesture. “That’s the problem with junk galaxies. All the planets look the same, it’s hard to keep track of!”

“If we’ve wasted the last four hours on the wrong planet –” Graham was cut off before he could finish his threat. 

“Oi! Who took you rain bathing in the upward tropics of Kinstarno?” The blonde defended, although Yaz could tell she felt a little bad about it even through the snark.

“Oh, no no, listen, that’s amazing!” Graham placated. “I’m just saying. Needle,” He gestured at the part still in the Doctor’s hand before waving that same hand out in front of him in an indication of the rest of the piles around them, “Haystack.”

“Yeah, you might be right…” The Doctor admitted.

“No! Hold on!” Graham called back, catching everyone’s attention as he waved his metal detector over a specific area a few times, waving them over as he did so. “I found something!”

Yaz and Ryan shared a look before hurrying over to Graham, the Doctor reaching the man soon after. Yaz watched the Doctor kneel next to the area causing Graham’s detector to alert them and begin digging through the rubble when, after digging for only a few moments, she pulled back with a gasp, frozen and radiating fear.

Looking down at what the woman had uncovered, Yaz could see a circular object that was blinking an angry red at them. “I’m sorry,” The Doctor whispered, still motionless in front of them.

“What’s it found?” Yaz prompted, not taking her eyes off the newly uncovered item.

“Nobody move.” The Doctor said. She pulled her sonic out of her pocket and was quick to scan it, pulling it back and rescanning a few times even as the blinking on the tech got faster. Yaz could feel her anxiety start to rise and her powers buzz below the surface of her skin as her mind raced ahead and she began piecing together what the tech was on her own.

“If I can keep it in temporal lock,” The blonde started with a hopeful look that crumbled shortly after. “No, it’s too many sensors it won’t work. It was camouflaged. Is this someone’s idea of a nasty joke?”

“What is it?” Yaz asked, although she was sure she already knew just from the Doctor’s frenzied scanning and her frantic tone of voice.

“Sonic mine.” She confirmed.

“How long we got?” Graham asked, a little shaky from the fear spreading through him.

“Three… Two…”

Yaz’s eyes widened and she did the only thing she could do. She allowed her instincts to take over, reaching forward the take the Doctor by her sleeve and yanking the woman back behind her as her limbs moved by themselves. Her arm moved quickly in the final moments before the explosion, arching in front of her in a sort of half circle motion and leaving a thin purple sheen in front of them.

The others watched in awe at the girl’s quick movements, but Yaz knew it wasn’t enough to contain the imminent blast entirely.

The mine exploded, and everything went dark.

* * *

When Yaz finally woke it was to a quiet hum and unfamiliar voices slowly bringing her into full consciousness. Yaz waited to open her eyes, rather, she decided to listen for a moment. Her brain registered the voices that she was sure she didn’t know and she was careful in making sure they didn’t yet realize she was awake.

There were two voices Yaz could pick out, a male and a female quietly speaking to each other.

“I can’t find their med tags.” The woman spoke in a heavy accent that Yaz didn’t recognize as any one she had heard before. “You see how rubbish I am at this? You think it would be simple enough.”

Yaz still kept her eyes closed as she began putting together the pieces she was presented with. A hospital of some sort, she could assume from the comment about med tags.

“Mabli, stop beating yourself up, I’m sure there’s a simple explanation.” The man’s voice came, lilting gently in the way it was meant to comfort the woman, Mabli.

Yaz twitched slightly at the sound of a gasp cutting through the air. _That was the Doctor,_ Yaz knew, and finally allowed herself to open her eyes. She blinked against the brightness of the room and tried to take in what she could through the partial blindness from the sudden exposure.

The room was white, pristine and spotless, just as you would expect from any room in any Earth hospital. The more she blinked, the more Yaz was realizing the strangeness of the room, beginning to register the large differences between it and a normal Earth hospital room. When the room finally came into focus Yaz was surprised to see the boys were already awake, though they had apparently been keeping quiet since she herself had woken up considering she had not noticed them. She frowned at that, a bit slow in realizing that her empathy was almost entirely cut off but was comforted slightly when she scanned over them and saw that they seemed unharmed.

Her eyes caught on the Doctor who was sitting upright in her own chair, her back stiff as she looked around frantically.

The two medics hadn’t noticed Yaz’s consciousness yet, instead working on keeping the Doctor from panicking any more than she already was.

“It’s alright, you’re safe. Just don’t make any sudden moves.” The man said, hovering steadily near the blonde. “Your body will take a couple moments to catch up.”

It was then that the woman, _Mabli_ , Yaz remembered, noticed her state of awake and came over to her. “Oh, good, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

Yaz shook her head, not quite feeling her brain catch up to Mabli’s words or the possible meanings behind them and sat up quickly, nearly flinching at the flash of pain she felt near her ribs. She took a deep breath, willing the pain away as she looked up at the woman. “I’m fine.” She breathed before looking back away, locking her eyes with the Doctor’s confused ones across the room, trying to give some semblance of comfort just through her gaze. 

“Where are we?” The blonde asked, her words slurring slightly.

“In a hospital.” Graham explained, and both heads whipped in his direction. “Ryan and I came around a while ago. You and Yaz are the last ones up.”

“Can you point out your med tag for me? I can’t find it anywhere.” Mabli prompted Yaz, holding a tablet out for her to grab. Yaz just stared at it for a moment.

“We don’t have med tags.” She informed the medic, whose face lit up in relief so obvious that Yaz could feel it even without her empathy.

“Oh. It wasn’t my mistake.”

“Told you.” The man responded with a teasing smile as he went back to digging through the various drawers.

“Except, you must have.” The woman’s face dropped again. “We need your histories, food labels, lifestyle data,” She listed, scanning over Yaz’s arms as the man did the same to the Doctor.

“It’s basically to help us avoid killing you,” He explained, looking over at Yaz as well. “Take it slow.”

“There was… A sonic mine.” The Doctor told them weakly, her eyes not quite in focus as she looked between her friends.

“Yeah.” The medic agreed. “The robodroids notified us as they were pulling you out of the debris. Really, I’m surprised that your injuries are as mild as they are.” His eyes narrowed slightly in confusion for moment. “Sonic mine injuries almost always require some form of organ stabilization but the worst you lot have is some heavy bruising.”

Yaz shifted, wincing at the pain of said heavy bruising and watching the medic try to piece together why they weren’t as injured as they should have been.

“How’d you manage that?” He questioned finally, genuinely curious in his inquiry.

Yaz shared a glance with the Doctor and shook her head, looking back at the medic and shrugging.

“Lucky, I suppose.”

He chuckled a little, and she wouldn’t be surprised if she learned he didn’t quite believe her. “Well, that _luck_ most likely saved your lives.”

Yaz could feel the others looking at her, but they soon distracted themselves when they realized what the man had said.

“Wait, hold on. Why would you have to stabilize my organs?” Graham asked from his seat, protectively wrapping an arm around his abdomen and sharing a look with Ryan where the boy sat upright in his own chair.

“I’ve seen quite a few sonic mine injuries here. They disrupt your internal organic stability whilst churning up the exterior environment.” The medic explained to them even as he scanned the screens lining the walls. “Tsuranga’s actually agitating for the territories to be swept more fully, but-.”

Yaz looked over at him at the pause in his explanation, watching as he narrowed his eyes at something on the screen in front of him.

“That doesn’t make sense…” Yaz shared a look with the Doctor as she registered the confusion coming from the medic. The Doctor didn’t look much better, but Yaz could tell she was slowly coming around more. “Tsuranga…” The blonde repeated slowly, still barely taking in her surroundings. “I know that name…” Yaz watched the blonde tell herself.

She saw the Doctor attempting to push herself up from the chair she was sat in and was quick to get out of her own seat when she realized that the woman wouldn’t be able to hold herself up. Yaz was pleasantly surprised to notice she was steadier than she felt as she stood up on her own.

The Doctor stumbled as soon as she pushed herself up, just barely catching herself on her hands and Yaz was fast in her mission, brushing off the shocked warnings from Mabli telling her she probably shouldn’t be standing. Yaz stepped forward, steadfastly ignoring the ache in her side as she made the short walk over to the Doctor to bend down and pull her up again.

One of her hands gently gripped the Doctor’s while her other arm wrapped itself around the blonde’s waist and she grunted slightly as she pulled the Doctor up with her again, once again ignoring the pain it caused in her side. The Doctor just looked at her, hooking her own spare arm around Yaz’s shoulder to keep herself steady.

“Where have I heard the name Tsuranga?” The Doctor asked her, although surely she knew that Yaz wouldn’t have the answer. Yaz just shook her head and placed her back down in her chair, groaning when the Doctor just stood up again, although this time she seemed to hold herself up more readily. 

The blonde turned to the man, barely registering the hand Yaz was holding steadily against her back or the motion of Ryan and Graham standing from their own chairs to join them.

“Whatever, very grateful. Need to get back to our ship though.” She told the medic before turning away from him and walking towards the doors. Yaz was quick to follow her, although not before catching the strange looks shared between the two medics. Her attention was called away by a gentle groan and she was met with the sight of the Doctor favoring her left side, much like Yaz had done herself. “Come on, you lot.”

They exited the room in a line, the two medics not far behind as they tried to convince them to stop. Yaz tilted her head, feeling as if something wasn’t quite right with the atmosphere. Her empathy still wasn’t nearly as strong as usual but she could just barely feel the faintest sliver of guilt from the two doctors.

The hallways were much like the first room they were in, completely white and spotless as Yaz scanned them while walking through.

“Hey, come back.” The man requested, following closely behind them as they stumbled along.

“Which way is out?” The Doctor ignored him, looking for any sign as to where the exit could be. Yaz felt that surge of guilt again and looked over at him, realizing from the awkward look on his face that he was hiding something.

“Will you return to the assessment zone, please?” He tried again, walking quickly to catch up to the Doctor. “We’re not discharging you, you need to rest.”

“Look, I appreciate how much you’ve looked after us, but my ship is very valuable. It’s also my home, our home,” She corrected. “And I’m worried about leaving it here on a junk planet where people come and scavenge. I might never see it again, and I only just got it back.”

The medic sighed. “Wait here.” He said before turning and leaving them alone. An oversight on his part, Yaz thought as the Doctor was quick to ignore him.

“This way.” She said, opening the first door they came across and stepping inside.

They seemed to have walked in on the tail end of a conversation and the awkwardness that saturated the room came from both sides as eye contact was made between the two groups. Yaz scanned her eyes over the situation in front of her, her eyes catching on the three figures staring back at them. Two men, one light-skinned and the other dark-skinned, standing on either side of a woman with a matching dark skin tone who sat on a stool between them. She watched the woman fidget in her seat as she looked at them.

“Sorry, looking for the exit.” The Doctor spoke first. “There’s no signs.”

“General Cicero’s privacy indicators are clearly on.” One of them said in his slow monotone voice. Yaz’s eyes narrowed at him, sweeping over his stiff posture and coming to land on his too perfect features.

“Sorry.” Graham apologized. “Not really up on privacy indicators.”

“General Cicero?” The Doctor repeated, taking a few more steps into the room and coming to stand closer to the woman. General Cicero, Yaz could assume. “Not _Eve_ Cicero? Neuropilot?” 

Yaz raised an eyebrow as she saw the Doctor’s excitement beginning to rise as she kept speaking. One look at the dark-skinned man’s annoyed eyeroll told her that this wasn’t the first time they had gotten that particular reaction.

“You’re mentioned in the Book of Celebrants.” The Doctor continued, either ignoring or just not noticing the awkward atmosphere between the occupants. “You helped defeat the Army of the Eons in the Battle of Underkind.”

The woman waved it off, humble in her movement. “I was one of many.”

“You’re a bit of a legend, though.”

“This is my brother Durkas and my consort Ronan,” General Cicero gestured to the dark and light-skinned men respectively.

“When she says consort, she really means clone drone. Android.” Yaz watched Durkas side-eye Ronan as he spoke. “You can tell by the hair.”

“Durkas.” The general reprimanded, finally standing and facing them fully. “And who are you?” She asked the Doctor.

“I’m the Doctor.”

Cicero’s eyes widened. “Wait. I’ve heard that name. Aren’t you in the Book of Celebrants? Isn’t there a whole chapter about you?”

The Doctor was quick to wave it off. “Me? No… Very common name.” Yaz rolled her eyes. Even through the attempted brush off she could sense the Doctor’s ego growing.

“Anyway,” The blonde continued. “Lovely chatting, must be off. Hope you all get better soon.” She told them even as she led the way back to the door, tapping a screen on the wall to open it.

The Doctor walked out first but hesitated before walking back down the hall. Yaz could see her trying to restrain herself from going back but she couldn’t seem to as she stepped back into the room.

“And it was really more of a chapter… Than a volume…” She clarified, turning back to her friends just in time to catch the tail end of Yaz’s eyeroll. The blonde just shrugged sheepishly before walking past them again, once again leading them through the hallways.

Yaz watched the woman walk in front of them, noticing she was still favoring her left side just a little. Every once in a while a wince would flash across her face but she did well at hiding it from the boys. If Yaz hadn’t been watching for it she likely would have missed it as well.

The Doctor was quick to reach another door and open that one as well, walking through it as soon as she could. They came upon a man, pale-skinned with red hair, lounging back in an angled chair with a blanket spread across his lap and pulled up to his chest.

“Hi, very sorry, looking for the exit.” The Doctor apologized immediately. “Somebody needs to have a big rethink on the signage in this building. I’d do it myself but I need-.”

She cut herself off with a groan as she held her side tightly, doubling over at the sudden pain. Yaz hurried over to her with concern clear on her face as she took gentle hold of the Doctor’s arm and pulled her upright again, angling her head in an attempt to meet the blonde’s gaze.

“Ugh. My ectospleen… hurts.”

The man’s eyes widened. “Oh, you’re the sonic mine lot! Sounded pretty serious. How are you feeling?” He asked them.

“Rough.” Ryan responded, although Yaz was glad to see he didn’t seem to be in pain. Maybe a little tired, is all. “What you in for?”

Yaz’s eyes widened as the man removed his blanket, revealing his very swollen stomach. Almost as if he was-.

“Pregnant.” He confirmed, gesturing towards his abdomen.

“Blimey.” Yaz couldn’t help staring. “You sure are.” She looked over to see the Doctor’s face shift into excitement for the man.

“Almost ready to pop!”

“How’d you get like that?” Graham asked.

“On holiday.” He explained. “Got involved with someone and didn’t take precautions, like an idiot.”

Graham shook his head, disbelieving. “So, what’s that? Nine months?”

The man looked at him as if he had two heads. “No, last week!”

Yaz watched the Doctor’s eyes light up at the information. “Ah, you’re a Gifftan! Male pregnancies last a week.” She informed them. “Very intense.”

“Yeah. Feels like forever.” He agreed with a groan as he rested his hands on his enlarged stomach. “I’m a day overdue. They’re thinking they might induce me at Resus One. Otherwise…” His face dropped slightly. “It wouldn’t be good for either of us.”

They were cut off by the sound of the door behind them sliding open and revealing Mabli’s breathless form. “Found you. Look, you can’t keep disturbing the other patients.” She reprimanded them before placing a hand against her ear. “Astos I found them, they’re here in pod two.”

“We need to go now.” The Doctor told the pregnant man, already gearing up to leave the pod. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. We’re thinking of you.”

The man almost laughed at them. “What do you mean go? How are you going to do that?” Yaz tilted her head at the amusement coming off him, glad that her abilities were finally returning in full as she looked back at Mabli’s reaction.

“What do you mean?” The Doctor asked.

He didn’t get to answer as Astos came running into the pod as well, sighing at the confusion on the Doctor’s face. “We have been trying to tell you.” Yaz didn’t quite believe that.

She watched the Doctor’s face as reluctant realization washed over it, her own face shifting as she registered the sad understanding radiating from the blonde.

“Oh…” She whispered, moving away from them and kneeling in the middle of the floor, still cradling her side as she did so. Once the blonde unwrapped the arm from around herself, she pressed her palms flat against the ground in front of her. “Vibrations. Too wrapped up in myself that I _missed_ the _vibrations_.” She stated with rising agitation, prompting Yaz’s own realization that she was right.

That was the strange buzzing she heard just as she woke up.

Astos moved over to the Doctor and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, meant for comfort. “I wanted to break it to you gently.”

“Tsuranga…” The Doctor said once more. “This isn’t a hospital. It’s a ship, and we’re already in flight.”

“Tsuranga operates emergency medical transport.” Astos explained. “This is a quad-zone rescue craft.”

“What, like the red cross?” Graham asked and went ignored.

Mabli moved over to the Doctor as well. “You’ll be fine. We’ll be at Resus One soon enough.” The blonde was irritated, Yaz could tell, could see the rising annoyance as if it were her own as the woman kept her gaze forward.

“Eh… How long were we out for?” Ryan questioned, and Yaz didn’t like the returned look.

“Three days.”

The Doctor crumbled, leaning forward and resting her head against the floor between her hands for only a moment before using them to push herself up, shaking off the medics when they tried to assist.

“I’m walking.” The Doctor stated, groaning as she straightened up. “No need to walk with me, I need to walk on my own.” Yaz watched her walk away from them, not looking back as she made her way into the hallway. She thought about going after the blonde but Yaz figured it would be easier for her to get back on track if she was alone for a moment.

Astos was quick to follow after the blonde and Yaz was sure he’d be able to keep her from hurting herself more, so she turned to look back at the remaining occupants of the room. Mabli had walked over to the Gifftan and was quietly whispering with him, leaving Yaz to exchange looks with Graham and Ryan.

“How are you two feeling?” She asked them, realizing she hadn’t yet questioned them about their wellbeing after waking up.

“Ah, not too bad.” Graham said before pausing. “Besides, apparently the injuries were supposed to be a lot worse.” Yaz could feel the gratitude coming off of Graham in waves and looked away, embarrassed at the appreciation in his gaze.

Ryan wasn’t any better. “Yeah, thanks Yaz. What you did was well superhero-like.” She laughed, still blushing lightly from their grateful admiration and keeping her gaze on her feet.

“It’s no problem.” She brushed off, looking back at them with a shrug. “I just wish I could’ve protected us a bit more. Kept us from losing the TARDIS. The shield I pulled up was pretty weak.” The boys shared incredulous looks at her admission before looking back at her.

“You can’t blame yourself for that, Yaz. It’s not like you had the time to prepare before we got blown up, right?” Graham comforted her. “You kept us from getting killed, and that deserves all of our thanks. The Doc thinks so too.”

Yaz just hummed. The boys knew she didn’t believe them but they let it go in favor of sharing another hesitant look. She narrowed her eyes at them, sensing there was something else they wanted to talk to her about, though they tried to hide it in the way they quickly looked elsewhere.

“What?” She prompted, smirking when there eyes widened in remembrance of one particular ability of hers. “I’m not in your head,” Yaz placated. “But I could be, so just tell me.”

They shared another look until Graham looked at her. “So, Yaz,” He started, taking a pause nearly long enough to make Yaz roll her eyes. “We were just wonderin’, you know, as you do, and we couldn’t help but notice something happening between you and the Doctor?”

Yaz looked at them strangely. “Yeah…” She said slowly. “I’m in her head sometimes if that’s what you mean? We speak to each other like that sometimes.” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you guys not like it? I can stop and we can only do it when you guys aren’t around. It’s just easier sometimes.”

Graham cut her off quickly with a wave of his hand. “No, no, Yaz. That’s not what we meant.” Yaz took a breath, relieved but still confused at the current conversation. If not that, then what?

“Then what do you mean if not that?”

They shared another look and Yaz almost snapped at them before Graham started speaking again. “Just… If you wanted to tell us about something about you and the Doc, you can. We would be supportive of anything you have to say.”

Yaz’s face didn’t look like she understood any more than she had before as she continued staring incomprehensibly at her friends.

After a few more moments of silence it was broken by a loud groan from Ryan. “Seriously, Yaz?” She shrugged, surprised at the exasperation in his voice. She watched him pull a hand down his face.

“Are you and the Doctor a thing?”

Yaz didn’t register the question at first. “Are the Doctor and I –”

Her eyes widened. “No!” Her vehement reply shocked the boys as well as pulled the other two occupant’s attention over to them. Yaz quickly lowered her voice into a whisper, not raising it even as she watched Mabli exit to go check on other patients. “No, why do people keep _asking_ if the Doctor and I are seeing each other?”

Ryan raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed when she realized her slip up. “Who else asked about it?” He looked at her expectantly, Graham standing next to him with an expression just slightly more subtle.

But _only_ slightly.

“My mother,” She mumbled, looking down with a blush.

“Look,” Yaz sighed before looking back up at them and meeting their eyes. “The Doctor and I are just friends, and that’s all we’ll _ever_ be. Okay?”

The boys shared a knowing look that Yaz far from appreciated, Graham opening his mouth to say something but getting cut off by a loud crash followed by thundering footsteps passing through the hall.

Yaz was the first to snap into action, leading the charge out the door and into the hallway, following the directions the footsteps had gone in previously. She looked back briefly to make sure the boys were following before she went further, taking hesitant steps forward and scanning the area around them. It didn’t take long for them to reach the destination of the frenzied steps as they came upon a turn and found themselves stopping just behind Mabli, presumable the owner of the overzealous steps they had heard.

The first thing Yaz saw was the Doctor, sonic in her hand and standing in front of something else. Yaz slipped in front of Mabli to place herself at the front of the group and give herself a better look, eyes widening at what she saw. She hadn’t expected the reason of the loud crash to be something so… cute, she thought as the look at the creature that barely made it to the Doctor’s knee in height.

At least, it was cute until it opened it’s mouth, revealing at least two rows of pointy teeth as it let out a terrifying screech, causing all of them to flinch back in surprise and fear. Yaz watched it as it picked up one of the various pieces of metal around it and threw it carelessly into its mouth, crunching down as if it was nothing more than a crisp.

“What is that?” Graham asked, terror clear on his quickly paling face as he watched the creature scurry between the walls of the hallway just a few yards in front of them.

“I don’t know, but it’s incredibly dangerous.” The Doctor said, quickly turning to face them. “It jettisoned the life pods…” She paused, eyes landing steadily on Mabli. “And it killed Astos.”

Mabli started at the information. “What?” Her voice was airy, and it was obvious she didn’t quite believe it yet.

“I’m sorry, Mabli, but it’s up to us to get us safely back to Resus One now.” The blonde turned back to the frightening creature. “And you, off this ship and back into space, or else you’ll have _me_ to deal with.”

The creature paid her no heed, only stared them down for a moment before picking up another piece of the metal scattered around the hallway before throwing that in its mouth as well, crunching down in a show of defiance.

“It just sort of ignored you there, Doc.” Graham informed her needlessly, prompting an irritated wave off from the blonde woman.

“Got that, thanks, Graham.” The man just shrugged unapologetically in response to the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“How’s it eating all that stuff?” Ryan asked from his spot where he stood poorly hidden behind Graham. “What even is it?”

Yaz watched in horror as the Doctor take a few steps towards the creature, gripping her sonic tightly in her hand as she slowly advanced on it. “No idea.” The Doctor admitted. “Hit this ship from the depths of space, so it can survive a vacuum. Doesn’t need oxygen and can digest pretty much whatever it wants.” She listed, creeping closer and lifting her sonic out in front of her.

The buzz from the tech caught the creature’s attention and it was quick in advancing on the Doctor, completely abandoning the scraps of metal around it in favor of reaching out for her sonic. Yaz watched as it growled at the Doctor, threatening even in it’s high pitch and lunged forward swiftly. Gasps flowed throughout the group as the sonic was snatched from the Doctor’s hand and immediately thrown into a wide-open mouth filled with deadly sharp teeth, swallowed down in a gulp while all they could do was watch.

“And it’s got nerve.” Ryan added.

The Doctor flinched back and groaned loudly. “No! It just ate my sonic!” She whined, holding her hands wide in her sorrow. The creature spit out the sonic shortly after and the rest of them watched with varying expressions of distaste as the Doctor was quick to pick it up, whining once more at the absence of the telltale glow as she pressed the button to power it up.

With one last defiant look towards them, the creature jumped into a nook in the wall and ripped through it quickly, and they could only watch as it escaped through it, leaving the five of them standing alone in the hallway, frightened at what everything could mean. Whatever the creature was tearing up on the ship was causing the lights to flash and sparks to fly out from any areas it had already torn off the walls. The Doctor flinched back, throwing her arms over her head in an attempt to protect it from the sparks flying through the air as she made her way back over to her friends, pushing through them and gesturing for them to follow after her.

They followed the Doctor for a few moments as she led them into a control room, complete with a circular console in front of them and various screens lining the wall. “Ships, data banks. I really shouldn’t let you in here, but I have something to show you, so I am and that’s fine.” Mabli’s voice was high and filled with despair as they tried to watch her find her footing without Astos to guide her. The Doctor was quick to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder in response to the woman’s stress.

“I’ve already been in here with Astos.” The Doctor revealed to her, hoping to lessen her guilt.

“Is he really gone?”

The Doctor’s face was sad. “I’m sorry Mabli.”

Yaz could hear Mabli’s shaky breathing as she attempted to keep herself calm, her eyes darting around the control room in frantic movements. “He- He was one of the only people that believed in me. Including me.” She met the Doctor’s eyes as she begged for understanding the woman wasn’t sure she could give. “He was so kind. There aren’t enough kind people.”

The Doctor gazed back steadily, gripping Mabli’s shoulders in an attempt to keep her grounded and with them. “What would he want you to do now?”

Mabli’s gaze began to calm as she worked towards the single answer she could give. “Uh- Make sure everyone stays safe…”

The blonde nodded in encouragement, finally letting go of the woman once she saw her beginning to calm down. “Good. You can do this.” Mabli nodded in an attempt to convince herself of the face.

“I- Yeah. I can.”

“What did you want to show us?” The Doctor prompted, spurring Mabli into moving towards the center console.

“Right.” The woman said. “If I sync my ocular recorders with the data banks, we might be able to find out what that creature was.” 

Yaz watched as she tapped at a few buttons, sharing a short look with the Doctor as the woman made her way back over to her friends to stand next to Yaz, coming to a stop just to the right of the dark-haired woman. Both boys stood to her left as they watched Mabli type in a few commands into the screen on the console.

“So, if this is the control room, where is the crew?” Graham voice came through, skepticism clear in his tone.

“No crew.” The Doctor revealed. “All automated.”

“So it’s just us?”

“Yeah.”

“Alone?”

“…Yeah.”

“In space?”

“Yeah…”

“With that creature?”

The Doctor’s face scrunched up. “Yeah…” Her voice was almost believably apologetic, but Yaz could read her excitement at the prospect of a new puzzle to solve.

Graham nodded in a show of fake nonchalance. “Right.”

Their conversation was cut short by an automated voice streaming from the console before them.

_“Thank you for choosing Perils of the Constant Division, we know you have a choice of vidbriefings concerning a most threatening of-”_

“Sorry,” Mabli apologized, cutting off the voice over in lieu of tapping the screen once more and, before their eyes, bringing up a blurry hologram of a creature that matched the one they had seen previously.

_“Item 7-Alpha-cubed, Pting.”_

“Pting?” The four of them questioned in unison, flinching back when the hologram shifted into a more frightening image of the creature, limbs raised in a threatening motion and mouth open to reveal several rows of sharp teeth

 _“Pting.”_ The voice continued. _“Threat level: Chalice.”_

“Is that bad?” Ryan looked at Mabli, as did Yaz to gauge her expression.

“Worst one.” She revealed. “One up from Beetroot.”

_“Few facts have been learned from the Pting in the many attempts to study the species, if it is a species, birth or creation. Many studies have failed due to the violent nature of the Pting, no Pting has been kept in captivity due to their ability to eat through any material that would incarcerate them.”_

Yaz could see the fearful looks shared between Ryan and Graham out of the corner of her eyes, but she didn’t allow her gaze to move from the holographic image in front of her.

_“While strictly non-carnivorous, they devour all non-organic material.”_

“Brilliant.” Graham groaned. “It won’t eat us but it will eat the ship we’re on.”

_“…they move at great speed and, while they may be momentarily stunned, are impossible to wound or kill. The Pting’s skin is understood to be toxic to most life forms, never touch a Pting directly. Ptings should never be restricted to a confined space. Condensed advice; Never engage with a Pting. Risk to life: Ultimate.”_

Mabli tapped at the screen again, removing the image of the Pting from their sights as well as silencing the voice. They stood in silence for a moment, each working to absorb all the new information presented to them, as it was proving to be quite important to their survival.

“On the plus side, I now feel very well informed.” The Doctor broke the silence in an attempt to lighten the tense atmosphere. Yaz shrugged with a few short nods, she could agree with that. “Seven minutes,” The Doctor told them. “Get everyone into the assessment area.”

“Why seven minutes?” Mabli questioned.

“I need a moment to think.”

“Right.” Ryan said. “Yaz and I will go get the pregnant man and Graham can go get the General from her pod. Good?”

Yaz and Graham nodded in agreement of the split.

“His name is Yoss, by the way.” Mabli informed them before they left and Yaz nodded again, committing the name into her memory. Yaz pulled Graham and Ryan after her, leaving the Doctor and Mabli to piece together the plan in the seven minutes the blonde gave herself.

Graham split off first, coming to stand outside of the Cicero’s pod and nodding at them to continue ahead while he gathered them. Yaz and Ryan were soon entering the second pod, once again revealing the Gifftan, _Yoss,_ who was already standing as they walked in, cradling his obviously enlarged abdomen with his hands.

Yoss smiled at them as they entered, although Yaz could see the small amount of confusion in his gaze. “Hi,” She started. “Um, we’re gonna need you to –”

“Oh!” She was cut off by a sudden exhalation from the man, surprised when he began waving them over and ended up doing so mostly out of shock. “Put your hand there.” He prompted, which caused Ryan’s eyes to widen in response to the request.

“No, you’re alright.” The boy tried to brush off, waving his hand in a dismissal.

“Oh, come on!” He urged them. “Please, both of you, quick! It’s kicking!”

It was only the hopeful smile on Yoss’ face that spurred Yaz into movement, slowly reaching her hand out and resting it on the spot Yoss had indicated. Her jaw dropped in wonder at the first movement she felt, a gentle kick against her hand that she just had to smile at. She looked over at Ryan, gesturing with her head and encouraging him to join in.

The boy sighed, but he ended up walking over anyway, placing his own hand just to the left of Yaz’s. She watched the smile spread across his face as he felt the same kick she did, and she laughed in awe as she finally pulled her hand away, Ryan doing the same as they stepped back once more.

“See? He likes you guys.” Yoss told them, his own smile spread across his face.

“You know it’s a boy?” Yaz questioned.

“Of course it is. Boys give birth to boys and girls give birth to girls. That’s how it is.” He explained, looking at them strangely.

“Not where we come from.” Yaz told him, chuckling at the disgusted look that crossed Yoss’ face.

“Ugh. How does that work?” He shuddered once more before stepping off to the side, coming to stand next to a large screen on the far wall and tapping the control pad that resided next to it. “You want to see my baby pics?” He offered, already pulling the photos up and giving them no choice but to follow him over and look at the screen.

“We all need to be in the assessment area in six minutes.” Ryan made sure to get out even as they walked over, Yoss just giving them a distracted thumbs up as he began his slide show.

The two humans watched in awe as he swiped through the photos, listing various time increments as he did so. “One hour… Three hours… End of the first day… Mid second day… And…” He pulled up the last one, and nothing could disguise the love that rushed through the man. “Oh. Three hours ago.”

Yaz could feel her heart softening as she looked over the photos scattered around the screen, astonishment keeping her from looking away.

“Mate…” Ryan started, his own voice filled with amazement as his expression softened as well. “You’re growing a person.”

“Yeah…” Yoss said, a strange sadness washing over him as he spoke.

“I couldn’t do that.” Ryan admitted. Yaz looked over at him, and then back to the Gifftan.

“No, he really couldn’t do that.”

Yoss chuckled, although Yaz could still tell something was saddening him as he looked down towards his enlarged abdomen. “Yeah… Almost seems a shame to give him away.”

Ryan and Yaz shared a surprised look. “That’s what you’re gonna do?” She gently questioned, careful to keep any inflections out of her voice.

He looked back at her. “Oh, yeah, well I’m not fit to raise a kid. Besides, dark times right now. Turbulent world. I’m not sure I’m his best option. I can’t even operate my oven.” He revealed his feelings on the subject. Yaz nodded, a sad understanding washing over her.

“But won’t you miss him?” Ryan asked, and Yaz could see his upset through the genuine question as his expression crumpled slightly. Yaz wondered what he was thinking about.

Yoss just shrugged in response, an obvious brush off attempt as she watched him shove down whatever motions he was feeling. Yaz could only pick through a few of them, but the most prominent one was guilt, as it usually is.

“You said six minutes?” Yoss was quick to change the subject, swiping at the screen behind him and leaving it blank as it powered down. “I’ll meet you there.”

Yaz could recognize the dismissal for what it was, grabbing Ryan by sleeve and pulling the motionless boy behind her after his final, whispered, “Yeah.”

The air between them was uncomfortable as they walked side by side towards where they knew the assessment area was. Yaz could practically hear the thoughts racing through Ryan’s mind as his arm brushed against hers, and she could focus enough on the boy to register the strange wistfulness radiating off his person.

“He’s the same age my dad was when he had me. Same age that I am now.” Ryan revealed, effectively ending the awkward silence that had made it’s home between them. He shrugged, helpless. “I never really thought about it like that. I wouldn’t be able to cope with having a kid now.” He let out a humorless laugh. 

Understanding washed over Yaz as the boy admitted to a particular pain in his past. She could imagine that Yoss’ situation likely hit much to close to home for the boy in front of him. 

“When was the last time you saw your dad?” She prompted, wanting to get him talking but keeping her gaze forward in an attempt to make the boy feel more comfortable talking to her. She felt the burst of appreciation from Ryan as he kept his own gaze locked in front of them.

“A year ago.” He grimaced. “Didn’t go well. Got angry with him.”

Yaz hummed at the information, slowly her steps just barely to give them more time. “Why?”

Ryan was silent for a moment, for long enough that Yaz thought he might not answer her at all until he let out a slow breath. “Ducked out when I needed him.” He divulged. “He’s like… A gap in my life. Even at nan’s funeral.”

She looked up slightly in thought as he spoke. “Do you mind me asking… How did your mum die?” Yaz was gentle in her questions, trying her best to keep Ryan calm as she inquired after his past in hopes that it would keep him from closing up.

Ryan’s steps stuttered at the question, a fresh wave of pain rolling over him and making Yaz feel slightly bad for asking in the first place. Regardless, after a deep breath, he started talking.

“Washing up in the kitchen. Massive heart attack just… just right on the floor.”

Yaz didn’t mean to, but as the boy brushed against her during the tail end of his sentence she caught a flicker, just barely, of a scene forming in her mind showing through the perspective of the boy next to her as he looked down at a body on the floor. His mother, Yaz knew. She remembered meeting her only a few times.

She finally looked over at him, holding his gaze as he turned towards her in response to her motion and reaching out for his hand that was swinging between them and squeezing it in comfort. Ryan looked down at their joined hands and gave a small chuckle at the sight.

“I can’t believe you got me to talk about all this.” He looked genuinely surprised out how easy it was to talk to the young woman. Yaz just shrugged.

“I’ve always been easy to talk to.” She explained. “It’s one of the reasons I make such a good police officer.”

He nodded but was unable to say more as they came upon the door into the assessment area, already open and revealing the sight of the Doctor and Mabli on one side and Graham sitting in one of the chairs on the other side, the Cicero’s and Ronan scattered around him. Giving Ryan’s hand one last comforting squeeze, she allowed their hands to drop and watched as the boy shoved it back into his pocket before walking over to join Graham.

Yaz met the Doctor’s eyes as the blonde turned at the sound of them entering. Hazel eyes darted briefly down to where they had caught Yaz’s movement as she dropped the boy’s hand and flickered with something Yaz couldn’t quite read before the woman turned away entirely, an emotion rolling off her that Yaz wasn’t able to place.

She allowed her gaze to scan over the Doctor and was glad to see that she seemed to be favoring her side less than she was earlier, although the realization reminded Yaz of the slight twinge in her own side. She was pulled from her musings by the sound of footsteps entering the room and looked back to see Yoss lumbering in, carefully sitting down in one of the patient chairs and leaning back. Yaz looked the man over and wasn’t surprised to see the guilt still flowing off him as he looked down at his abdomen sadly, his hands cradling it in some attempt at protection.

Yaz was still standing in the doorway when the Doctor finally turned to face them all, her gaze lingering on Yaz for just a moment longer than normal before landing on the rest of the people gathered by the chairs on the other side of the room.

“You’re probably wondering why I called you all here. I need to bring you up to speed, very directly and very succinctly.” The Doctor started, gaze flicking between each of them. “I can’t sugar coat this.”

“Where’s the chief medic?” General Cicero asked, looking between Mabli and the Doctor.

“Gone.” The blonde stated bluntly. “Killed by an alien organism called Pting that’s come aboard. Very fast-moving, very deadly, and it’s eating its way through the structure of the ship. Also, and this is the bit you need to work on not panicking, it’s jettisoned the life pods.”

Yoss cut her off with a frightened whimper as his face began to pale. The Doctor noticed and was quick to look him in the eyes.

“I’m the Doctor, and these are my friends, Ryan, Graham… and Yaz.” She introduced, gesturing towards them respectively and confusing Yaz with the slight hesitation before the woman said her name. Regardless, Yaz ignored it for now and listened to the Doctor placate Yoss.

“You know Mabli, our very capable medic. We will pool our brilliance and get us all safely to Resus One.”

The room fell silent at the conclusion of the Doctor’s pep talk, leaving them all to stare awkwardly while waiting for someone to say something.

The Doctor pursed her lips. “I thought there’d be more questions.” She admitted, appearing to even be a little saddened by the fact from the faint disappointment lining her features.

Everyone’s attention snapped to General Cicero as she took a few measured steps towards the Doctor, confidence seeping off her in the general’s uniform she wore. “I’ve encountered a Pting before.” She revealed. “It massacred my fleet.”

The Doctor blinked slowly as her mind caught up to the new information presented to her. “Okay. What did you learn about them? What did they want?”

“They kill. Relentlessly.” General Cicero stated, surety bleeding into her tone.

No sooner than she had finished her statement did the lights go out, leaving them only able to see with the aid of the emergency lights still glowing dully above them. They were silent for a few moments, only the sound of frightened breathing filling it as each of them attempted to control their fear.

“It must have got down to the central systems.” Mabli guessed, her voice shaking slightly though she pushed through it well. “That means we’ll soon lose oxygen and heat.”

“It’ll go for whatever’s powering the craft next.” The General was even better at hiding her fear, Yaz could see. She remembered the Doctor saying that this woman was a neuropilot and could guess that would increase her indisposition towards fear. Regardless, it was impressive as even Yaz was having a hard time keeping herself calm, especially when she could feel the fear from Ryan and Graham behind her.

“We run on an antimatter drive.” Mabli informed them.

“We could use stazers to defend ourselves.” Cicero suggested. “They can stun it briefly. Got any on board?”

Mabli nodded immediately at the questioning look the general gave her and sped over to a compartment that resided against the wall, Yaz following after her to take one off her hands. She didn’t think any of the others were particularly keen on shooting an alien taster, and she was proven right when she glanced over at them, scanning over their frightened wide-eyed expressions and pale features.

There ended up being only two stazers anyway, and Mabli handed one off to Yaz and kept to other one in her own hands. Looking down at the tech in her hands, Yaz had never seen anything like it and scanned the body of it, picking out even slightly familiar features that may indicate how to use it.

“Right.” Cicero said. “If we’re going to live through this, protect the –”

“Antimatter drive! Snap!” The Doctor and Cicero finished together.

The General looked over at the Doctor. “Can we get to Resus One any faster than currently routed?”

The blonde was shaking her head before the question was even finished. “Not without breaking the ships auto-routing which would send a signal back to Resus One.” Cicero nodded in understanding, taking it to the next logical conclusion. “And they go straight into hostility protocols.”

“I can create a false positive route signal to send back, but no manual controls in the Nav chamber.” The Doctor revealed.

“Show it to me.” Cicero insisted.

“General.” Ronan interrupted the request, a strange monotonous concern within the single word statement. Almost a warning, Yaz thought.

“Shush, Ronan. I know.” Yaz saw Durkas’ eyes narrow in suspicion at the exchange and she watched in curiosity as the General shot a warning look at the android, effectively silencing him from whatever he was planning to say.

“We could go past the drive chamber on the way.” The Doctor said, which meant Yaz would be going with her. She thought she had the gun-like technology in her hands mostly figured out. Could assume that the triggers under her pointer fingers would work like any other gun and that all she had to do was hope her aim was as good as she thought it was.

“Durkas, with me, please.” Cicero requested of her brother.

Durkas had barely begun walking towards her when a sharp whine shot through the air, and their heads whipped around to land on Yoss, who was looking at them with a sheepish sort of guilt on his face as he held his stomach.

“Um.” His voice shook slightly. “Is this a bad moment to mention that my internal fluids have broken? The baby’s coming… Really sorry.” He apologized.

Nobody said anything more a moment, and just stared at the man in shock at the sudden change in events. Yaz saw the Doctor’s jaw drop slightly and felt hers to the same as dread began washing over the group.

Mabli was the first to unfreeze, spurring into action as she shoved her stazer into Ronan’s hands as she made her was over to Yoss while doing an impressive job of keeping herself calm. She watched as the medic placed a gentle hand on Yoss’ arm while she spoke to him gently, pulling him up and out of his chair slowly.

“The birth bot is set up in your patient pod. Let’s get you back there.” She told him gently, guiding him towards the door with a steady grip on him.

“But it won’t have any power.” He pointed out, desperately searching for comfort in Mabli’s gaze.

“It’s got a back up generator. No need to panic.” Mabli informed him, injecting an impressive air of confidence in her voice that was effective in calming the man down, allowing him to take a few deep breaths in an attempt to relax. They were almost to the door when they stopped suddenly at the request of Yoss as he turned back to the room, searching until his eyes landed on Graham and Ryan.

“Would you two be my doulas? I haven’t got any doulas.” The request shocked the two men as they looked at each other with wide eyes.

“Do- what?” Graham squeaked, sure he must have heard wrong.

“Doulas.” Mabli repeated. “Birth partners.” She explained.

“She’s brilliant but I need some men with me!”

Obviously, there was no way for them to refuse as they looked at the clearly frightened man standing in front of them, practically begging for them to be there for him while he gave birth.

“Uh- Yeah. Yeah.” Graham stuttered out an agreement as he patted Ryan on the shoulder to give off the impression that they were a team. “We’re you’re blokes, ain’t we?”

Ryan paused for only a moment. “Yeahhh.” His voice was high pitched as he verbalized his agreement, nodding in an attempt to appear confident to the man. “Yeah, yeah. All over it, yeah.”

The two could just about bring themselves to not regret it as they watched Yoss sigh in relief, nodding as he finally allowed Mabli to lead him out of the room. Ryan and Graham sent one last look of unsurety at those remaining in the room before exiting after them, dread rushing through both of their heads.

The rest of them watched them leave for a moment before turning back to the matter at hand.

“Come on.” The Doctor said after the door closed, gesturing for everyone to follow as she guided them out, stopping only to pull an emergency blanket off the wall in a quick gesture.

Their steps were fast in their haste to get out of the darkened hallway and each of them were on high alert as they scanned their surroundings for any sign of the Pting. Yaz’s arm brushed against the sleeve of the Doctor’s coat every once in a while as they walked side by side, but for some reason the woman had yet to really look at her since they had gathered in the assessment area. Lost in her thoughts, Yaz was surprised when the Doctor suddenly came to a stop and she looked up to see Mabli leaning through the door to Yoss’ patient pod, obviously wanting to talk to the Doctor who was ushering them to continue on in front of her as picked up on Mabli’s secrecy as well.

Yaz was reluctant to go on in front of her but ended up doing so when the Doctor finally looked at her, asking with her eyes and thoughts for her not to question it. Yaz sighed but did as the Doctor wished, turning back to trail after the rest of the group as they made their way to the center of the ship.

When they finally stepped through another sliding door and arrived at their destination, Yaz’s eyes widened at the sight in front of her. She watched as the glowing yellow energy flowed through the antimatter drive, moving so fast it almost looked stationary in it’s winding maze of tubing. The drive took up most of the center of the room, residing on the middle of a slightly raised platform only a single step up from where they stood.

She’d still been staring at it when the Doctor finally showed up and Yaz’s attention was called away from the curious tech in front of her. The blonde quickly stepped up onto the platform in front of the antimatter drive, looking at it excitedly as she circled around it.

“What century is this?” She asked the General, who looked at her strange.

“Are you joking?” The woman had an edge of nervous laugher as she questioned the Doctor. The blonde shook her head.

“No. We travel in time.”

“Are you joking now?”

“No.”

Durkas hesitated for a moment. “67th.” He said.

The blonde’s face lit up. “Oh! Nice century. Bit tricky in the middle but it turns out alright in the end.” She turned to Yaz, pointing in front of her at the Antimatter drive. “See this Yaz? Antimatter drive.”

“We did a bit of antimatter at school.” Yaz revealed. “Never _quite_ understood it.”

“The thing with antimatter is you either have to find it or generate it.” The Doctor explained, pointing at an area of tubing near the top of the drive. “That’s what this bit does. Particle accelerator.” 

“Like at CERN?” Yaz looked at her, working to recall all she had learned in her high school physics class. “Only the one at CERN is massive.” The Doctor’s eyebrows went up slightly, impressed at Yaz’s remembrance of the topic.

“In your time generating antimatter costs massive amount of money. This is progress! Things get smaller, faster, and cheaper.” The Doctor circles the drive, stepping off the platform to get a better vantage point. “This is like the iPhone version of CERN! Accelerating enough particles to power this entire craft.”

Yaz nodded. “So how does it work?” The Doctor was quick to explain, always glad to share her extensive scientific knowledge to anyone that would listen. She stepped onto the platform once more and began pointing out various sections of the drive as she enlightened as on their functions.

“The particle accelerator smashes the atoms together like a little antimatter factory to produce positrons, which are then stored very carefully inside electric and magnetic fields. The positrons interact with the fuel materials to produce heat, which then produces thrust.”

Yaz listened intently and inquisitively as the Doctor explained the process to her and nodded in slight understanding once she had finished. It was an interesting topic and Yaz would have to get the Doctor to tell her more about it at some point.

Durkas, who had been listening to the Doctor’s lecture, spoke up. “Yeah, it’s pretty old school, this one.”

“It’s beautiful.” The emotion in the Doctor’s voice was proof of the honesty in her statement, her voice breathless and filled with passion. “Antimatter powering the movement of matter, bringing positrons into existence, to move other forms of life across space. I love it. Conceptually, and actually.”

Yaz startled when the Doctor suddenly turned to her, all the previous inflection in her voice gone as she speaks again.

“Yaz! You have to keep this safe from the Pting. If this drive gets destroyed, the ship will lose propulsion, we’ll drift endlessly while the Pting-”

“I get it!” Yaz cut her off, not needing the extra pressure of the Doctor listing off all the bad things that had the possibility of happening in the event of the Pting getting its hands on the drive. “It won’t be good.”

The Doctor nodded sheepishly, realizing she may have gone too far with explaining the exact chain of events that had a risk of happening

“Ronan can stay with you.” General Cicero offered, much to the android’s curious despair.

“No.” He refused. “General, my responsibility-”

“Ronan, you’re able to touch it without it toxifying you.” Cicero cut him off as Yaz and the Doctor shared a look, both picking up on the strange inflections in her voice. “That’s useful to all of us. Including me.”

Ronan’s face didn’t shift in the slightest but his disappointment was palpable in his air of silence. “Of course, General.”

The General and Durkas left the room with a shrug of false pity from the latter, leaving Ronan alone with Yaz and the Doctor.

“You might need this.” The Doctor told Yaz, reaching down to pick up the emergency blanket she had placed on the ground when she came in. Yaz took it hesitantly, shifting her grip of the stazer to her right hand as the grabbed the blanket with her left. “Med blanket. Sterilized barrier. In case you need to pick anything up.” There was an inflection in the Doctor’s voice as she said the last sentence that Yaz wasn’t quite comfortable with, and her expression was colored with uncertainty as she watched the Doctor leave.

She shared a look with Ronan and was somehow able to deduce some hesitance in his own immovable features. Her instincts were dialed to a ten, and she couldn’t help the tight grip she had on her blaster, the emergency blanket still tucked under her arm.

The Doctor had just barely left when a resounding crash sounded from above, prompting Yaz to drop the blanket entirely and grip her blaster tighter with both hands now. Both Yaz and the android were fast in bringing their stazers up to aim at the ceiling above them where they were sure the noise had come from.

Yaz was tense, keeping her gaze locked on the ceiling and working to keep her powers under control. Ronan was less so but still just as on guard as she was and kept his unblinking eyes frozen on the area above them as well, not even blinking.

Yaz hoped the Doctor wouldn’t be gone too long.

* * *

**The Doctor**

The Doctor left Yaz and Ronan with the antimatter drive, quite uncomfortable leaving her friend with the android to protect the drive from a lethal alien eating through the ship. Regardless, the Doctor restrained herself from going back and protecting Yaz herself and instead raced to catch up with Durkas and General Cicero.

They were walking quickly through the hallways and made it to the control room in just a few minutes, coming to stand in front of the controls once the doors slid open. The Doctor swiped at a few things on the console in and tapped at a few buttons when she was interrupted by a sharp alarm cutting through the air, startling both Ciceros as it continued to wail at them.

“Ugh!” The Doctor exclaimed, leaving her spot at the console to instead swipe at the screen behind her, effectively silencing the alarm as she did so. “Pting presence denied. Strike two, one left.”

“Now, you two.” The blonde addressed the other two in the room, gesturing for them to follow her to another screen just a few feet down the wall. She aimed a finger at the map on the screen, pointing towards one of the routes shown on it. “A more direct route. Obviously, fast moving asteroids and debris to avoid on the way, which is presumably why the systems wanted to avoid it. Now,” She walked back over to another screen.

“If I could rig up a cover signal back to Resus One-”

“Doctor, I’m a neuropilot.” The Doctor was interrupted by the General. “My expertise is in symbiotic neuropiloting. Pulse systems at a push, but not this.” Cicero admitted.

Durkas, who had been scanning the area around them spoke up, interrupting their conversation. “I can make a rig out of this chamber.”

“No, you can’t.” The General challenged, causing Durkas to raise an eyebrow in acceptance before scoffing.

“You wouldn’t be able to make your way through those asteroids even if I did.” He sent back his own challenge, the General’s eyes narrowing in response.

“Yeah? Says you.” She threw back, glancing at the Doctor who had been watching the verbal volley in uncomfortable silence before looking back at her brother.

Durkas scoffed. “How long have I got?” He asked the Doctor.

“Literally no time at all.”

He nodded in easy acceptance. “Give me some space to work.” The Doctor watched him pull a controller out of his back pocket and begin tapping away at it as he walked around the room.

“Siblings.” The Doctor said fondly, guiding the General out of the room with a gentle hand on her arm. “Bless.”

The blonde pulled the General around the corner, the woman slightly in front of her and facing forward. “Why’re you on this ship general?”

“Corden fever.” She replied, still not facing the Doctor as she came to a stop and as a result missing the Doctor’s movements as she pulled a stethoscope out of her coat pocket. “Contracted it on my last duty, can’t quite shake it.” 

The Doctor had a feeling the woman was lying, already placing the stethoscope in her ears as she listened to the General’s explanation.

The General finally turned around then, eyebrows furrowing when she saw the sight of the Doctor’s stethoscope resting in her ears and the woman’s hand reaching out to place the diaphragm against her chest. “What are you doing?”

The Doctor listened for a moment, registering the rather slow beating of the General’s heard and the impaired pupillary response as she examined the woman. “Why would you be using adrenaline blockers for Corden Fever?”

The General looked startled, not quite answering the Doctor’s question. “How do you know about the blockers?” She asked instead.

“Your slow pulse and my really good hearing. You asked Ronan for some. It isn’t Corden Fever, is it?” The Doctor asked, watching the woman flounder for another explanation. “Is it Pilot’s Heart?”

Cicero grew silent at that, looking at the Doctor with a disappointed sigh.

“I’m sorry Eve.” The Doctor apologized. “But if we’re going to survive this, you need to be honest with me.”

Eve looked away finally, turning to put the Doctor at her back as she walked a few feet away from her trying to escape the intense look the blonde was giving her. The Doctor didn’t allow it, leaving her own post to move in front of Eve once again, catching her eyes as she did so. The eye contact didn’t last for long, the General’s eyes dropping almost as soon as their gazes met. Eve sighed.

“I started as a pulse pilot. I graduated to neuro-fleet commander faster than anyone in Keeban history. I’m the most decorated general. I’m the poster woman.” Eve listed in a whisper, breathing out a shaky breath as she finally looked at the Doctor. “I cannot have Pilot’s Heart. I cannot be that example to others.”

“But you have.” The Doctor stated bluntly. “And you’ve been using more and more blocker shots to get through the day.”

Eve nodded in acknowledgement. “Trying to control the surges of adrenaline around the heart. One big surge could kill me.”

“Does Duraks know?”

The Doctor watched Eve’s face crumple into a guilty expression, shaking her head. “I don’t want him worrying.”

“He’s going to find out sooner or later.”

“He already has.” Both heads whipped around at the familiar voice cutting through their conversation. Durkas was looking at his sister with a sort of disappointed acceptance as he shook his head. “Not that I’m surprised. Just… Disappointed.”

Eve sighed. “Durkas-”

“We don’t have time now.” She was interrupted. “I’ve rigged a primitive piloting bypass combining pulse and neuro-”

“I’ll do it.” The conversation was interrupted again by the Doctor, who was quick to step between the siblings. She felt Eve’s shocked eyes on her.

“Have you ever flown that way?” The pilot asked, pulling the Doctor’s attention to her as she turned around.

“No,” The Doctor admitted. “But you could talk me through it.”

Eve was already shaking her head. “It takes people a dozen years to train.” The Doctor groaned, knowing there was no way she’d be able to fly them without getting them killed.

“Really need to spend more time in 67th century.”

“I know how to do this. I’m not stopping now.” Eve told her, knowing she was their best chance. “Everyone is going to live.” She turned and hurried down the hallway, leaving the other two to follow her back into the control room.

* * *

**Yaz**

Yaz and Ronan were circling the antimatter drive, both arms raised as they aimed the stazers gripped tightly in their hands. There were intermittent crashes coming from various places around them. Some from the ceiling, some from the walls, and even a few coming from the floor below them.

The room was dark, the Pting having gotten to a few more fuses and so the lights were all out, save for the glow of the antimatter drive and the red emergency lights dimly glowing above them.

“It’s close.” Yaz said. And it was true, she could feel her instincts racking up again as the danger increased with each step.

“Just focus on protecting the antimatter drive.” Ronan didn’t look at her, rather he kept his eyes open and scanning as they continued on in the dark.

The crashes stopped for just a moment. But that moment was enough for Yaz to take pause herself, knowing that whatever she were protecting against was about to happen. Her eyes widened as sparks began jumping up from the floor below her feet, causing a yelp to slip out as she jumped up on the platform around the drive in an attempt to escape from them.

“Stazers ready!” Ronan yelled, and Yaz heard the sound of his stazer powering up in preparation to shoot, hearing hers do the same when she pressed the button to power it up. They were silent for a moment as they aimed their blasters at the ground between them, listening carefully to the groans coming from seemingly all around them.

“The creature is toying with us.” Ronan stated, and Yaz realized he was right as she listened to the creature crawl around, just out of reach of them but close enough to make them tense.

The creature fell silent once more and neither one of them moved as they kept their arms steadily in front of them.

Then, suddenly there was a crash, louder than all the others and just to the side of them. They were quick to shift their aims over, eyes widening at the sight of the Pting on the ground so close to them as they finally discharged their weapons.

Two streams of pure electricity flowed from each other their stazers, aiming straight at the Pting and taking it by surprise as they both hit it straight on. Yaz let go of her stazer first, releasing the triggers and setting it down, grabbing the emergency blanket the Doctor had left for her and stepping towards the Pting.

Ronan only stopped shooting when Yaz was within a few inches of the creature, allowing her to quickly wrap it up in the blanket and gather it into her arms.

“I’ll get it as far away from the drive as I can.” She told Ronan, already running towards the door.

“Be fast!” He yelled back. “The stun power only lasts a few seconds!” Yaz only heard the tail end of the sentence as she was already mostly out the door, allowing her legs to carry her as fast as they could. She thought about using her super speed but there was no way of telling who was out in the halls, and that wasn’t really a conversation she wanted to have with the people aboard the ship. Her normal human speed would have to do, she thought as she raced through the halls.

The Pting was already started to squirm in her arms after a few seconds and she knew she’d have to drop it soon. She held the creature out in front of her, readying herself for a kick across the room.

The Pting dropped, and she kicked it with all her might, just maybe using a bit of extra speed to get a few more yards of distance from her, blanket and all. The creature was already working to get out of the confines of the blanket around it and Yaz was quick to turn and run back to the room with the drive, panting slightly with the exertion of her short sprint.

She nodded in thanks at Ronan as he picked up her stazer and handed it back to her, and back they went to circling around the drive, just a bit more tense than before and hoping the smallest bit more that the Doctor would be back soon.

* * *

**The Doctor**

“Okay, it’s rigged.” Durkas said, guiding Eve into the controls with a hold on her hand. “I’ve leached the system’s power off the antimatter drive. If they can keep that up and running, we’ll have enough power to keep the basic systems going.” He knelt down, reaching into the hole he had made in the ground and attaching a few stray wires as he did so. “Still get to Resus One. That’s _if_ that thing doesn’t get in there and drain the energy.”

“This isn’t going to work.” Eve said as her brother attached the screen over her eye and placed the neuro-links against her temples and cheekbones.

The Doctor tuned out for a moment after that, sensing a private moment as Durkas began speaking to Eve in a quiet whisper. Her mind was racing as she tapped away at the controls once more, preparing to send off the false signal to Resus One and give Eve full control. There was something that Durkas had said that she wasn’t quite registering that had seemed useful, but she was too focused to really delve into it.

“You’re going to need every scrap of energy you have.” Durkas told Eve at a normal volume once more.

“Cover signal transmitting to Resus One. Hopefully with a bit of luck they’re still going to think they’re in control.” The Doctor informed, straightening up to her full height.

With her mind no longer distracted with the signal, the Doctor’s brain finally registered the last few minutes of conversation and her consciousness landed on one particular thing that was said.

“Durkas!” The Doctor gasped, pulling the man’s shocked attention to her. “You’re a genius.” The two siblings looked even more shocked then, confusion pulling at their features. “The energy!” She clarified. “It doesn’t want to kill. It doesn’t even care about us, it just wants the systems, and the power.”

Everything that happened began clicking into place in the Doctor’s mind, and she was a bit disappointed in herself that she didn’t see it before. “It wasn’t going for Astos, it just wanted to life support systems in the life pod. It drained the lights, and the power, and my sonic, it drains everything it eats. That little creature seeks out and feasts on _energy._ ”

The blonde could tell that the others were beginning to understand as well as she continued explaining. “That’s why it honed onto us out here, pulsing with energy in the wilds of space!”

The siblings shared a wide-eyed look at the Doctor’s explanation of the trip’s events and were quick to move into action. Durkas finished placing the the various pulse-links on each of Eve’s fingers and finally stepped back, admiring his work.

“Locked in, General. Try it out.”

The change was minute, just a barely there decrease in speed as the controls to passed over the Eve as she guided them.

“I can see the course.” She confirmed. “I need to increase speed.”

Durkas was swift as he knelt down and adjusted the speed and handed over full control. “Handing over full control.” He warned, waiting for a nod before he did so. Once received, a switch was flipped and the change was felt immediately as Eve immediately adjusted the speed to settle a bit faster than it had been previously. There was a shudder as the ship shook turbulently around them, and the Doctor had to lean against the console to make sure she kept her footing.

Eve was steady as always, not even flinching at the ship’s movement as she guided them through. The ship began to stabilize and the General sighed. It wasn’t a sigh of sadness though. It was a sigh of remembrance and reminiscence of the feeling of piloting once more.

“I’ve still got it, boy.” The General’s voice was sing-songy as she bragged to her brother, who just scoffed at his sister’s ego. “I’ve missed this so much.”

The Doctor watched Cicero pilot the ship, and she had to admit that even through her worry about the General’s condition it was beautiful to watch the serenity wash over the woman’s face as the returned to doing what she loved.

“How is it?” Durkas asked her.

“Rough.”

A scoff and a smirk. “But it’ll work.”

An alarm blared through the air, cutting off the conversation and startling the Doctor and Durkas, Eve staying impressively still.

The Doctor raced over to the screen once more, dragging her finger down it and silencing the alarm. “Pting denial, strike three. After which, tricky.”

“What will we do with the Pting once we get to Resus One?” Durkas asked her, the alarm nearly drowning out his voice as it sounded once more.

“Nothing to worry about. I’ll deal with the Pting.” The Doctor was already running out the door as she said it, ignoring Durkas’ inquiry about how she was going to do just that. She sprinted through the hallways in her haste to get back to the antimatter drive and made it in just minutes. The first thing she saw when she door slid open was the barrel of a stazer aimed straight at her and followed closely by the sight of Yaz looking at her with wide eyes along with Ronan just behind her.

“Woah, it’s me! I’m not a Pting!”

Yaz sighed in relief, lowering her stazer at the sight of the blonde woman. “It was here. I got rid of it.” Yaz began to smile, obviously proud of herself before it shrunk again. “But it’ll be coming back.” She finished.

The Doctor was looking back at her with a look of pride mixed with something else, but she was cut off before she could say anything.

“What’s the situation elsewhere?” Ronan asked, and the Doctor knew he was really asking after Eve.

“Eve’s piloting the ship, Durkas is maintaining controls and signals, you’re guarding the particle accelerator.” She was cut off by a tremor racking through the ship and Yaz winced slightly, still feeling the small ache in her side, although it was much better than it was. “Mabli, Graham, and Ryan are presumably delivering Yoss’ baby, and the bomb’s going to detonate so I’m just going to move it away from this room. Mind helping?”

Yaz’s eyes widened. “Yes!” She said, frustrated and watching as the Doctor reached into her pocket.

The Doctor pulled out her sonic and her eyes widened at the previously missing glow of the instrument as she held it in her hands. “Oh, clever sonic. Self-rebooting.” Yaz watched the Doctor scan the particle accelerator with thinly veiled frustration at the woman’s nonchalance about the fact that they were apparently about to be blown up.

“There’s a bomb in this room?” Ronan asked, watching the woman scan the drive.

“In here.” The Doctor confirmed, still circling the accelerator. “Mabli said that Resus One would terminate the ship if they found a Pting on board.” She explained, constantly glancing between the sonic readings and the particle accelerator.

“How would they do that?” She questioned. “Too far for missiles. Has to be the same for every Tsurangan rescue craft.”

It was then that Yaz caught up to what the Doctor was saying, coming to the same conclusion the blonde had come to just minutes before. “It’s built in.” Yaz realized. “Self-detonation.”

“Bingo. Ten points to Yasmin Khan.” The Doctor praised, finally coming to a stop on the other side of the accelerator. Yaz walked over, standing beside her and smiling proudly at the points she received.

“So,” The Doctor started, leaning towards the drive and reaching out with both hands. Yaz watched as the woman wedged her fingers into a crevice Yaz hadn’t seen before and pulled, bringing a drawer out with it that contained a small flashing object not dissimilar to the sonic mind they had encountered.

“You’re interfering with a bomb?” Ronan asked, although he sounded more curious than anything as he watched her.

“Yes.”

“Is it going to detonate?”

“Yes.”

“What will you do?”

The Doctor paused, never looking away from the bomb in front of her. “Speed it up.” She said. “To save our lives.”

Yaz felt Ronan look over at her and met his eyes. “Are you also experience comprehension deficiency?” He asked her, and Yaz would have laughed if they weren’t talking about a live bomb.

“Oh, every day right now, mate.”

Yaz had to keep herself from calling out when she saw the Doctor reaching towards the bomb and picking it up from it’s place, holding it delicately between her fingers. “Need to be so careful. Tiny little device could blow us all to pieces. And I’m going to set it off.” Yaz rolled her eyes. That did not help her situation. The Doctor let out a quick exhale.

“Ronan, keep guard.” She glanced briefly at the android before locking her eyes on the bomb on her hands. “Yaz,” the Doctor tilted her head in a gesture for said woman to follow. “Come on.”

Yaz stood behind her as they walked slowly through the hallways, looking around them every so often to make sure the Pting was nowhere near them and keeping a tight grip on her stazer as she did so. She followed the Doctor to one of the jettisoned pods and watched as the blonde gently placed the bomb on the ground between the doors keeping them in and keeping space out respectively.

“Funny, I’m normally the one diffusing the bomb.”

That didn’t seem very funny to Yaz but she humored her anyway with a raised eyebrow as the Doctor pulled out her sonic.

“Pick a number between one and a hundred.” The Doctor requested, looking at Yaz expectantly. Yaz didn’t let herself think on it too long and shouted out an uncertain, “51!”

The Doctor nodded, intrigued at Yaz’s choice. “Pentagonal number. Interesting.”

The blonde aimed the sonic at the device and scanned it briefly before finally exiting the pod and gently guiding Yaz into the small nook on the opposite side of the hallway. Yaz just looked at the woman expectantly as they both leaned down protectively.

“What was the number for?” She asked when it didn’t seem like the Doctor would answer.

“Number of seconds until the bomb goes off. I moved it forward a bit.”

Yaz straightened up slowly with a blink, bringing the Doctor with her with a grip on her sleeve, shifting the stazer into her right hand.

“What?” Yaz whisper-yelled. “I would’ve gone higher!”

“Good number, 51!” The Doctor placated her, although it didn’t work and Yaz just looked away, exasperated with the woman in front of her. “Atomic number of antimony, number of Federalist’s papers written by Alexander Hamilton. I love that show, I’ve seen _all_ 900 casts.”

Yaz’s mouth opened and closed a few times, advertising her complete speechlessness at the situation as she glanced around once more. She sighed.

“I’m really trusting you on this bomb but I don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Think of the Pting as a mouse, and the bomb as a piece of cheese.”

Yaz stared at her disbelievingly, baffled at the analogy being presented to her. “A very large piece of cheese about to explode and take us all with it!”

“Well it’s not a perfect analogy, I’ll admit.” The Doctor’s eyes narrowed in offense. “You could’ve picked a bigger number!”

Yaz’s jaw dropped as the woman turned away from her, shaking her head and raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Where is it? Come on!” The Doctor paced a few steps down the hallway, waiting for the arrival of the Pting that was taking just a bit too long for her comfort. “As the bomb gets closer, the energy’s building as it gets ready to blow. The Pting _must_ be attracted to that. Surely!”

The blonde turned towards Yaz with an imploring gaze. “That’s what I’ve been working on this whole time. Oh, please don’t be wrong. I’ll be so embarrassed!”

Yaz couldn’t help the burst of sarcasm that escaped her. “Yeah, and dead.” She ignored the glare the Doctor sent her in favor of a shrug as she glanced down the hallway.

Sure enough, the Pting was waddling it’s way down the hallway and Yaz was quick to try and gather the Doctor’s attention, tapping at her shoulder before getting a tight grip on the woman’s sleeve as she noticed the Pting too, gasping as she did. “I’m not mad! Admit it I’m not mad! It’s all in the timing.”

The next thing Yaz knew was that there was that there was a tight grip on her hand and she was being backed into the corner again, the full length of the Doctor’s body pressing against her own and separating her from the Pting. Yaz rolled her eyes. Surely she should be the one protecting the Doctor, considering she was the one with powers as well as the stazer. However, the Doctor was sturdy in her stance and was not easily pushed out of the way, even going so far as to resist Yaz and throw a warning look over her shoulder.

They watched as the Pting took a few measured steps towards the pod, stopping just a few feet short of it and looking over at them with a threatening hiss, revealing it’s teeth as it did so.

“Whenever you’re ready, mate.” The Doctor said, not moving her gaze from the creature in front of them.

It turns out the Pting was not ready, as it just stood there for a few more moments and Yaz and the Doctor could only watch it. “Come on.” The Doctor encouraged. “Get a shift on!”

Yaz sighed and leaned in next to the Doctor’s ear. “You know, I could just give it a little nudge and speed up the process.” She whispered, and the Doctor looked over her shoulder at her, eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. Yaz kept their gazes locked and allowed the smallest flash of purple to light up her eyes. The Doctor’s confusion shifted into comprehension and a small amount of awe as she watched the purple fade from her friend’s eyes.

The Doctor’s mouth flattened in thought as she turned back to the Pting. The creature did seem to be taking too long and was still about two yards away from being inside the pod, and one look at the bomb told the Doctor that they didn’t have much time. She sighed and nodded to Yaz who slowly bent down and placed her stazer at their feet, gently so as to not make any noise.

She allowed her left hand to squeeze through the space between the wall and the Doctor and brought her other to rest on the Doctor’s right arm. The blonde felt the contact and watched as her friend took a breath and before she knew it, a slow stream of purple was seeping from her left hand and crawling towards the Pting.

Once the purple reached the creature it was quick to wrap itself around it and Yaz had to pull her other hand around next to her left in order to keep it steady as the Pting squirmed in her hold. Yaz looked towards the bomb in the pod and saw that it was nearing count zero as the blinking began to get fast. So, she picked the Pting up clear off the ground, giving it no leverage to move as she brought it over to the pod, gently placing it on the ground near the bomb but still keeping her magic tight around it.

The Doctor was swift in her steps over to the pod, waving her sonic and shutting the doors. Yaz allowed her magic to release the creature and watched as it looked around the pod, obviously confused about how it got there. The Pting looked down at its feet and caught sight of the bomb, tilting it’s head in curiosity as it picked it up. Next thing they knew, the Pting had thrown the bomb into its mouth a swallowed with a big gulp.

Yaz laughed, her eyes still glowing a gentle purple from the residual power. “It ate it!”

And it was only a few seconds later that the bomb exploded, although it wasn’t much of an explosion at all. Just a quick burst and expansion of the Pting’s abdomen as it absorbed the energy.

“Absorbed every bit of energy.” The Doctor gazed down at the Pting, smiling at the content expression on its face. She reached over and laid her hand on a lever just off to the side of the door. “Bye bye, Pting. Intruder ejected.” And she pulled the lever, opening the airlock and sending the Pting out into space and away from them.

When the Doctor turned to face Yaz she still had a smile on her face, and it only grew wider when she looked into her friend’s eyes and saw them still glowing a dim purple, although it was slowly fading. “Brilliant.” The Doctor whispered, and she almost seemed a little sheepish for a moment. As if she hadn’t meant to say it.

Yaz’s face scrunched up slightly at the compliment, a light blush dusting her cheeks. It was then that Yaz remembered a particular conversation between her and the boys and she had to look away, her face almost burning from the embarrassment. “Thanks.” She mumbled, bringing her eyes back to the Doctor’s and hoping her blush wasn’t too noticable.

The Doctor gazed at her companion and sighed when she saw that the purple was entirely gone from her eyes, not noticing the small blush on the girl’s cheeks.

Their moment was interrupted by the ship rumbling around them and turbulence causing them to fall against the wall behind them. Yaz’s eyes widened at the incredible surge of grief she felt wash over her and turned to the Doctor. She knew the blonde didn’t get it by the confusion radiating from her at her companion’s shocked look. Yaz was quick to place a hand on her shoulder and share the feeling with her.

The Doctor’s eyes widened as well in realization. Realization of what, however, Yaz wouldn’t know until a few moments later.

“It’s Eve.” The Doctor said, gripping Yaz’s hand and pulling her along behind her.

“The neuro-pilot?” Yaz asked. “What happened?”

“She’s got something called Pilot’s Heart.” The Doctor explained, still pulling her along. “Uncontrollable surges of adrenaline around the heart. Eve was piloting. She must’ve pushed too hard.”

They were at the control room within minutes and once the door slid open they hurried inside. The first thing Yaz saw was General Cicero lying on the ground unmoving, the second was that Durkas was flying them. Yaz went to Eve first, kneeling next to her and placing her fingers against her neck in hopes of finding a pulse. Her heart dropped when she didn’t feel one.

“What happened?” The Doctor asked Durkas, who was strapped into the pilot’s rig and had taken over in guiding them.

“Her heart couldn’t take it.” He explained, voice shaking in poorly hidden grief. “She gave me control.”

“Do you know how to do this.”

“I’m a Cicero.” His voice was still rough. “I trained for this.”

“We’re coming into Resus One.” Durkas told them before speaking into his com.

“Resus One, requesting emergency landing.” He glanced towards his sister, a new weight in his words. “Bringing her in safe.”

“Thank you.” The Doctor told him sincerely, turning back to Yaz who was still knelt next to Eve.

The rest of the ride was bumpy and turbulent, and there were a few times that the Doctor had to take hold of the center console to keep herself on her feet as they began the landing sequence at Resus One.

* * *

They were all gathered in the assessment area with Durkas and Ronan in the center on either side of a sheet-covered Eve as the rest of them were scattered in various places, doing their best to give them some semblance of privacy.

Ryan and Graham were talking to Yoss about his newly born baby while Yaz allowed herself to come stand near the Doctor, smiling at the gentle look that crossed the blonde’s face and ignoring the boy’s looks from across the room, working and mostly succeeding at keeping the blush off her face.

Mabli looked at them both. “They say quarantine scanning and craft detox should take no more than three hours, then they’ll admit us to the facility.” She explained, stuttering slightly every few words. “They’re booking your teleport to Seffilun, soon as you’ve spoken to the investigators.”

“Thank you, Mabli.” The Doctor laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be sure to tell them how brilliant you were.” Yaz nodded in agreement and smiled at the sheepish look on the woman’s face.

“You _all_ were.” Was the reply. “Light and dark times.”

“People prevail.” The Doctor’s smile was gentle as she nodded. “Hope prevails.”

The cry of a baby cut through the air and Yaz let out a gentle sigh as she looked over and saw the new father holding his baby, gazing down at him with nothing but love. Mabli left them to go check on Yoss and his baby, leaving the Doctor and Yaz side by side.

The Doctor’s attention shifted over to Yaz when she heard the sigh and she smiled softly when she saw the exhaustion in her gaze. “Tired, Yaz?”

Yaz chuckled slightly, nodding her head and yawning to verify the fact. “I’ve barely done anything. Don’t think I should be this tired.”

“You were brilliant. Truly.” The Doctor told her seriously. “You managed to keep up with my madness, and don’t forget that we’d likely be a lot worse off if you hadn’t managed to keep up safe from that sonic mine.”

“Stop.” Yaz mumbled, looking down at the praise the Doctor gave her and trying to keep the smile off her face. The Doctor laughed.

“Really, though.” The Doctor nudged her and Yaz looked up at her again. “I’m proud of you.”

Yaz held her gaze this time, smiling thankfully at the woman in front of her.

They looked back out at the gatherings of people in front of them and caught the tail end of Ronan’s and Durkas’ conversation.

“Will you encant for her?” Durkas asks Ronan, and the android gazes back at him steadily.

“It would be my honor.”

The Doctor walked towards them, Yaz following closely behind. “Could we join you?”

Durkas nodded. “Please.” The blonde gestured for the boys to come join them.

They gathered around the late Cicero in a small circle, just large enough for them to be shoulder to shoulder. Ronan lifted his hands out as if to take hold of someone else’s, but it was not meant to be an offer of hand holding, as the android immediately started encanting once they were all gathered, all of them looking towards the ground and closing their eyes.

“May the saints of all the stars and constellations,” the rest of them joined. “Bring you hope.”

“As they guide you out of the dark and into the light on this voyage and the next and all the journeys still to come. For now, and evermore.”


	12. Demons of the Punjab

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thought i'd bang out a chapter this past weekend and here it is! About 7,500 words I believe. I hope you enjoy it and please leave comments and kudos!
> 
> Bre

“Happy birthday!” Yaz and her sister, Sonya, sat on one end of the kitchen table with their parents standing behind them, all watching the woman across from them with varying degrees of excitement and pointed birthday caps resting on their heads. They were celebrating their nan’s birthday but Umbreen was looking quite exasperated at their excitement as she sat leaned back in her wheelchair.

Umbreen sighed and tried to temper their enthusiasm. “I said no fuss!” She tried, holding her hands out in a placating gesture and hoping her family would take it to mean they should calm down. Yaz scoffed, although it had an almost undetectable film of disappointment that wasn’t quite noticed by most of her family, bar the very woman it was aimed at.

Umbreen had powers much like her own but Yaz knew they were beginning to weaken and often went unused, although her empathy seemed to be quite intact if the short glance of annoyance sent her way was anything to go by. Regardless, Yaz pushed on.

“You have to celebrate your birthday, Nani.” She watched Najia walk into the kitchen to grab the cake off the counter and leant forward to spread a few plates out from where they had been stacked in front of them. Umbreen just shook her head.

“I was the first woman married in Pakistan.” Umbreen sighed again. “Now look at me. In a wheelchair, being fed chalkboard cake.”

Yaz ignored her mother’s sound of offence and mumbled defense of the cake as her eyes narrowed in surprise. “First woman married in Pakistan?” She turned to Najia. “Did you know this?”

“And, I was the first Muslim woman to work in a textile mill in South Yorkshire.” Umbreen’s eyes turned almost misty in remembrance as she clasped her hands in front of her, elbows resting on the table before she moved them away again and reached towards the box she had placed to the side. Yaz’s curiosity tempered and she smiled gently.

“Grandad taking you dancing every Wednesday night.” Yaz remembered the many stories her Nani had told her and Sonya and she always loved the wave of content nostalgia that would wash over her from Umbreen as she remembered this or recalled that. Yaz watched as Umbreen reached into her box and pulled out a photo.

“Oh, I so miss that man.” Yaz reached into the box and picked up another photo, looking at it as she listened to her Nani speak about her husband.

“Now, I want to give you these things before it’s too late.” Umbreen reached into the box once more as everyone’s attention moved to her, although Sonya still kept her phone out and tapped at the screen. “Najia, these are some letters your father wrote to me while he was away.” She held said letters out to her daughter and waited for them to be taken.

Najia leant towards her mother and took the offered letters, holding them gently between her hands as she scanned through the first few sentences.

“Sonya…” Umbreen waited for the girl to look up from her phone before reaching digging something else out of the box. She held up her find in front of her and it was what looked like a card that, upon opening, revealed a beautiful rose pressed between the cardstock. “This was a present from your grandfather. I can’t remember why, but it’s nice.”

Sonya put her phone down and reached across the table, taking the card from Umbreen with a gentle grip. As she settled back into her seat she threw a look towards Yaz filled with a sort of boasting superiority that she couldn’t help raising her eyebrow at in response. Yaz let out a silent scoff as she turned back to her Nani.

“And now, Yasmin. My favorite granddaughter.” Yaz sent a smirk towards her sister even through the surprised squeak from her mother. Sonya scoffed in disbelief at the blatant favoritism displayed before her before turning back to her phone with a scowl, and Yaz’s smirk grew wider.

Reaching into the box one more time, Umbreen pulled out the final object, which was an old watch, banded in leather with the clock face surrounding by a silver-like material. Once handed the watch and able to get a better look, Yaz realized that the glass was broken, and the two hands were stuck in the positions they were presumably in when the crack was formed. “I want you to have this.”

“Thank you.” Yaz scanned over the object with gentle eyes and an increasingly gentle touch as she looked back at her grandmother, surprised to see the sad nostalgia crossing her expression, one Yaz was not used to seeing from the woman that was normally so content in her remembrance. “Was it granddad’s?” She asked and was further surprised at the grief rolling off the woman.

Yaz was interrupted by Hakim coming up next to her and picking up the broken watch, lifting it closer to his own face and looking it over. “I can get it fixed if you like?”

“It must never be fixed.” Yaz’s head whipped back around to face Umbreen and her confusion only grew at the strangely harsh assertion. She took the watch back from her father and held it gently, grazing a thumb lightly over the broken glass, making sure not to cut herself. 

“Why not?” She asked and wasn’t all to surprised when her grandmother clammed up, likely having noticed her granddaughter’s scanning eyes and empathic revelations. Her powers may not be what they used to, but she could still tell when someone was trying to get a read on her.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

Yaz sighed. “Nani, please.” She tried once more, knowing that if Umbreen really didn’t want to tell her then she wouldn’t be able to read it from her. The similarities in their powers left them unable to get a solid read on the other’s thoughts and only feelings could be shared between the two.

“You won’t understand.” Umbreen insisted, clasping her hands in front of her again, sighing deeply. “I have such stories I could tell.”

“And we want to here them, really.” Yaz shared a look with a sister, and the fact that she looked up from her phone at all indicated the truth of the statement. “If you don’t tell us we won’t know. Your life’s our heritage.”

Umbreen just looked at her, mouth flattening at the secrets she wasn’t quite ready to share. “When you’re older, maybe.”

It was then that Yaz let it drop for the time being. Verbally, that is, as she tuned out of the conversations around her and allowed herself to get caught in her own mind. She looked at the watch resting in her hands once more and began going back through the strange conversation. Something felt off and Yaz wanted to know why, why Umbreen was being so secretive about her life.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to look in Umbreen’s head, and she wouldn’t want to anyway. Yaz felt digging through her grandmother’s head for something she didn’t want to share would be incredibly disrespectful, and she never wanted to disrespect her Nani.

Yaz wished she could just go back and live through it herself. More than just being curious, she wanted to _understand_ her Nani and her family’s past.

Although…

Yaz’s eyes widened at the realization. _The Doctor._

She needed to talk to the Doctor.

* * *

“I know what you’re asking, but family history and time travel? Very tricky.” The Doctor did seem apologetic, if a little distracted as she fiddled with the console, goggles strapped to her forehead as she flipped a switch every so often. Ryan and Graham were there too, although they had taken the backseat and were standing off to the side, watching with curious eyes. Yaz was standing to her left with her Nani’s watch in her hands.

“Just for an hour. See her from a distance.” Yaz nearly begged, her voice edging on a whine. The Doctor grunted as she attempted to dislodge a particularly stuck lever but otherwise had no reply. “What’s the point in having a mate with a time machine if you can’t nip back to see your gran when she were younger?”

Yaz would admit that that particular argument was a little farfetched, but even so it seemed to get through to the Doctor. The blonde reached out and flipped one of the switch and any reply she may have had in that moment was cut off by a loud crash, followed by a series of pops and sparks flying from the console as they both flinched away. 

As the Doctor pulled away from the controls she finally turned to face Yaz fully.

“Yaz, you’re telepathic.” She started, and Yaz already knew where she was going with it. “Can’t you just…” The blonde waved her hand near her head in a vague gesture that Graham and Ryan tilted their heads at. Yaz was already shaking her head in disagreement.

“No, I can’t. She’s telepathic too.” The Doctor’s eyebrows went up slightly in surprise before she signed in resignation, reaching out to take the watch from Yaz’s hands, their fingers brushing lightly as the object is passed between them. The blonde looked at it for a moment.

“Have you got a time or place?” She asked, not looking up from it.

Yaz shook her head with a light shrug. “I know she lived in Lahore in the fifties, but other than that…”

“I mean, I could… But I shouldn’t.” The Doctor still wasn’t looking at Yaz, although the lack of eye contact didn’t seem to be helping her attempted refusal as the blonde flattened her lips, removing the goggled from her forehead and placing them on the console. “Unless- No. Too unpredictable.”

Yaz was sure she was getting whiplash just from the speed at the which the Doctor changed her mind, and the boys seemed to agree as they finally entered the conversation.

“Could what?” Ryan prompted, drawing the Doctor’s eyes to him.

“It’s a risk.” The Doctor didn’t quite answer his question, instead hoping that if she told them how dangerous it would be that they wouldn’t want to go.

Ryan and Graham shared a look. “Oh, like none of our other trips have ever been risky?” Graham raised his eyebrows as he posed his question, sarcasm dripping from his tone. Surprisingly the Doctor picked up on it and glared back at him.

“Oi. I’ve apologized for the death eye turtle army. Profusely.” The blonde looked back at the watch in her hands. “I suppose I could link this into the TARDIS’ telepathic circuits.”

“Right.” Graham said, remembering what the Doctor had said about her ship. “This thing’s telepathic, too.”

The Doctor glared at him again. “Don’t call her a thing, Graham. And yes, she does have telepathic navigation, sort of. Shorthand for a very complicated process which is way beyond your understanding.” She turned back to the console, completely missing the look Graham shot her at the thinly veiled insult.

“Ta, very much. I only hang around here to be insulted.” Yaz couldn’t help the smile or the chuckle that escaped her after seeing Ryan’s matching smile at Graham’s expense.

The Doctor straightened up once more. “Any object amasses all sorts of fragmentary spatial temporal particles through its life. The TARDIS can read it, like date stamps.” She explained, looking at them with a question in her eyes. “What do you two reckon?”

The two boys shared another look before nodding turning back to the Doctor and Yaz with an answer. “Oh, yeah, love it. Pakistan, never been there before, another one off the bucket list. As long as there’s no killer turtles.” Graham rambled and Yaz smiled at the quick agreement and the support from her friends.

“Yeah, I’m well up for it.” Ryan agreed.

The Doctor hummed in response, obviously still unsure about whether or not she should do as her friend had asked. However, one look back at Yaz’s pleading eyes crumpled whatever resolve she may have had and she nearly groaned.

“One hour.” She told them. “And no-”

“Interfering!” The three humans chimed in at once, having heard the rule many times before.

“Right.” They watched the Doctor reach towards the console, flipping this switch and turning that dial before placing the watch on a small platform in front of her.

“Go on.” She encouraged her ship. “You know you can do it.”

The Doctor looked at Yaz. “Ready?”

And really, the only thing Yaz could do was nod, smiling at the Doctor’s enthusiasm as she reached for the big lever off to the side, yanking it down with gusto and sending them into the time vortex with a lurch, nearly throwing then all to the ground if it weren’t for the grips they each managed to get on various hand holds and railings.

They kept their grips for long minutes as they tumbled through the vortex and landed quite roughly, nearly losing the holds they had on the ship. The Doctor was the first to recover as usual and hurried over to the doors, pushing them open and peeking out before stepping through fully. Yaz followed closely behind her and had to shield her eyes as the brightness of the sun beat down on them.

“Woah! Nice!” The Doctor’s eyes were wide as they scanned the area around them. They had landed on a cliff overlooking a beautiful valley filled with trees and even tall mountains out in the distance. Yaz looked out in awe as well, barely noticing Graham and Ryan’s added presence as they followed the two women out the doors.

“I thought Lahore was a city.” Graham started, looking around as well. “This ain’t a city.”

The Doctor tilted her head in thought before turning around and walking past her friends and the TARDIS, instead walking away from the cliff and up a short hill, making her way between rocks and roots. She pulled her sonic out of her coat and made quick work of scanning the trees in front of her before pulling it back and looking at the readings even as she kept walking, Yaz and the others following quickly in an attempt to catch up.

“TARDIS readings are all over the place.” The Doctor said, confusion clear in her voice and gaze as they came upon a small dirt path with trees on either side. “Looks pretty northern Punjab.”

Before the Doctor could continue, she was cut off by a sharp pain cutting through her skull and she doubled over from the force of it, gripping her head tightly. Yaz only caught the blonde’s initial pained gasp before she released on of her own as a flash of pain ran through her own head. It was almost as if someone was speaking much too close to a microphone at a volume much higher than necessary. It was piercing, and Graham and Ryan watched the women with concerned gazes as they all came to a stop, Yaz and the Doctor unable to keep walking.

Their pain had just begun to fade when an unfamiliar voice cut in, along with the sound of hooves hitting the ground.

“Hey, get out of the road!” The voice said, and Yaz finally looked up as her pain became a dull ache. The unfamiliar voice belonged to a man sitting in a wagon and the hoofbeats belonged to the oxen that pulled it, although they came to a stop in front of them.

“Really sorry.” The Doctor apologized, finally straightening up herself and releasing her head from the grip she had on it. “Bit of a wobble.”

Ryan looked between the Doctor and Yaz. “What just happened?”

“Not sure.” The Doctor admitted, and Yaz shrugged in agreement. If the Doctor didn’t know then she had less than no idea. “But I didn’t like it at all.”

The man looked at them strangely. “Sorry, mate.” Graham cut in, hoping to move the conversation away from the odd subject. “Just getting our bearings, we’re not from round here.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Your Punjabi’s not bad for foreigners, though.” Graham’s eyebrows furrowed before he remembered the Doctor saying something about the TARDIS and translations. “You need to be careful. These roads aren’t safe right now.” The man warned them, and the Doctor tilted her head, Yaz mirroring her not long after. She knew the blonde was about to question the man but Yaz had a more pressing task.

“We’re actually looking for a woman, by the name of Umbreen.” Yaz was impressed as the man’s face didn’t change at all at her question, and the only reason she grew suspicious was that she could feel a wave of skepticism roll of the man and she tilted her head.

“Right, Umbreen.” The man seemed to be attempting to get his own read on Yaz, although he didn’t seem to get what he was looking for. “What for?”

“We’re-”

“Family.”

“Friends.”

Yaz glared at Ryan as the boy attempted to help but only ended up making it worse as they replied with opposite answers.

“Uh, family friends.” Graham attempted to salvage, and the Doctor smiled a hopeful smile as the man looked between each of them.

“We’re on our way to say hello. Bit of a surprise.” Yaz cut in again, shrugging her shoulders in a show of nonchalance. She was still confused at the feelings coming from the man in front of her and was just a few moments away from pushing her way into his head, although her own was still aching from the recent pain and she was sure getting into someone else’s wouldn’t help at all.

“But we agreed…” Yaz tilted her head at the pause in the man’s voice, her eyes boring into his as he stared back. The stare lasted a few moments until he finally looked away. “Okay, get in.”

Yaz heard the Doctor’s sigh of relief as they made their way towards the back of the wagon. The boys climbed up first and came to sit across from each other and the Doctor allowed Yaz to climb up in front of her before she got in herself, sitting in front of Yaz and just to the right of Graham.

“Why isn’t it safe on the roads?” The Doctor asked the man, looking towards him expectantly. He opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by another familiar voice.

“Running transport now, Prem?” A man with long, grey hair dressed in ragged robes with face paint smeared across his forehead stood behind them, and Yaz was surprised he wasn’t noticed before. He held a staff in his left hand and wore a variety of beads around his neck. Yaz could see the ceremony within the outfit of the man.

Prem looked back at him and smiled a surprisingly fond smile. “Want to ride with us, Sadhu?” He asked, and Yaz blinked in recognition of the title. A holy man. “I can take one more.”

“What’s wrong with your feet?” The holy man questioned, gesturing towards said appendages. “You young people, always such a rush. Walking served me all my life. I’ll be there, don’t you worry.”

Prem chuckled lightly. “We’ll be ready.” Yaz watched as he turned around again, encouraging the oxen into moving and whispering something under his breath, although she didn’t quite catch it. She turned and watched as the holy man grew smaller and smaller as they left him behind, and she looked back towards the Doctor with a small smile.

They rode in relative silence for a few minutes, only the sound of the oxen’s hooves hitting the ground and the crunch of the gravel below the wagon wheels breaking it. Yaz was still slightly distracted by the pain in her head and by the Doctor’s silence she knew she was too.

“Are you two alright?” Graham leaned towards them with a whisper. “Seemed like something happened back there.” He gestured vaguely down the traveled road.

“Think so.” The Doctor replied. “Probably.” She grimaced. “I don’t know.”

Yaz knew the feeling, and she looked between the three of them. “It felt like I intercepted something, in my brain.” Yaz looked towards the Doctor and the expression on the blonde’s face told her that her experience was much the same.

The boys obviously didn’t know what to say to that and the conversation dwindled after that, the rest of the ride passing in silence until the finally came upon a small farm. Just one look at the barren land told Yaz so much about the time period they were in.

When the wagon came to a stop the group sat for a moment, each of them working to get their bearings before they did anything. Prem was quick to jump down from his seat and another pair of steps joined him shortly.

Yaz looked towards the sound and her eyes widened at what she saw, which was, undoubtedly, her Nani when she was much younger. She couldn’t stop herself from jumping from the cart as quick as she could, almost falling but ignoring it as well as the Doctor’s concerned protests as the blonde followed behind.

“Oh, my god.” Yaz walked towards Umbreen. “You’re Umbreen.” She said unnecessarily, not even registering the Doctor coming to stand behind her.

Yaz started hard at the woman and realized that she wasn’t getting the normal interference she usually did around her Nani. She was thinking that Umbreen’s powers hadn’t come in yet, after all, she did look quite young. No more than 18 probably. 

“Eh, so Yaz, we should probably explain who we are?” The Doctor prompted, sensing the awkward tension between Yaz and Umbreen.

Yaz shook her head, shaking herself out of her surprise. “Right, sorry. We’re family of Uncle Malik. You know, Uncle Malik.”

Umbreen still looked confused. “There are loads of Uncle Maliks.”

Which was precisely why Yaz chose that particular family member, knowing how hard it would be to track down a specific one. “Exactly. Well, the one from about fifteen valleys over, I’m that Uncle Malik’s third cousin’s younger sister, Yaz.” She introduced. The Doctor was impressed by Yaz’s ability to spin that story so well, although she supposes she shouldn’t have been considering the girl spent a lot of time hiding herself from the world.

“And these are my friends, Ryan, Graham, and the Doctor.” Yaz gestured to the three stood behind her respectively. Ryan and Graham waved slightly and the Doctor smiled awkwardly in response.

“All the way from England.” Graham explained, although he turned to Prem when the man patted him on the shoulder.

“Might want to keep that to yourself right now.” Graham looked at Ryan with a curious glance, one that was shared by the boy.

“Right.” Umbreen interrupted. “It’s just, we weren’t expecting you. Or anyone. Uncle Malik’s not coming to the wedding as well, is he?” She asked with a small edge to her voice. Yaz ignored it in favor of an asked question.

“There’s a wedding?” Yaz asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“Which is why we’re here. Bringing wedding best wishes.” The Doctor cut in, likely saving them from further suspicion, although there was certainly no small amount of suspicion surrounding them. “Uh, when’s the big day again?”

Umbreen finally smiled a genuine smile, excitement radiating off her in an uncharacteristically girlish sort of way. “Tomorrow.”

“Amazing.” Yaz said. “Can’t wait to meet the groom.”

Umbreen looked at her disbelievingly. “You already have.” She gestured behind her and everyone’s gazes followed, landing on none other than Prem, who was looking back with a smile and a small wave.

“Remember me? Cart? Flowers? Marrying Umbreen?”

Yaz’s mouth opened and closed in surprise, her stomach dropping and dread coming over her. “N-No, you can’t be.” She stuttered. “You’re not my-”

“A wedding in the Punjab! Bring it on.” Yaz looked back at the Doctor at her timely interruption, but the blonde kept her eyes on Umbreen. “Love a wedding, don’t we boys?” She turned to the boys in question.

“Oh, yeah.” Ryan agreed, laughing awkwardly. “I’d go to a wedding every day if I could.”

Graham nodded along quickly, showing his agreement without saying anything more, knowing whatever he said likely wouldn’t be good for them. He was impressed with his own restraint.

“We won’t be staying long anyway. Just wanted to convey our best wishes,” The Doctor told Umbreen before turning to Yaz with a heavy look. “And then head off.”

Yaz looked back at her and the Doctor smiled sadly at the confused pain she saw on her friend’s face. Yes, she was definitely starting to regret letting Yaz talk her into this trip.

“Hi, I thought I saw some people on the cart.” A new voice cut in and everyone’s attention was drawn to a new arrival. It was another man, this one with glasses and not looking dissimilar to Prem. “Sorry about his driving.”

Prem scoffed. “My baby brother thinks he can do everything better than me.” And quicker than Yaz could blink he had his brother in a headlock, his left arm wrapped around the top of his brother’s head and pulling him into his chest.

The move left his wrist in full display as the sleeve of his shirt rode up to his forearm and a closer look revealed it to be the resting place of a watch looking not unlike the one Yaz herself had been given by the woman in front of her. Her eyes widened, and one look at the Doctor’s own shocked eyes told her that she had noticed it as well.

Once the two boys had straightened up Yaz looked back at them, confusion obvious on her face although she tried her best to hide it with a smile.

“I’m Mannish.” Prem’s brother introduced himself from his place tucked under his brother’s arm, although it did look slightly awkward as he was the taller of the two. Yaz tilted her head at him. He seemed nice enough at first but there was something about him that gave Yaz an odd impression. She just shook her head, letting it go for the time being. Regardless, they were interrupted by further questioning by another voice, this one a woman and likely Umbreen’s mother if her familiar features were anything to go by.

“Come, all of you! It’s being announced!” Prem and Umbreen were the first to follow her inside but Mannish lingered behind, not yet moving from where he stood.

“What’s happening?” The Doctor asked the question they were all thinking, squinting her eyes against the brightness of the sun as she gazed at Mannish.

“Everyone’s waiting for the announcement, but I’ve got advanced information.” He explained, and Yaz narrowed her eyes at the strange inflection in his voice. Before she could question him he ran off around the side of the house, leaving Yaz alone with her friends.

Once Mannish was out of sight Yaz wasted no time in turning to the Doctor and the boys. “Okay.” Yaz started uncertainly. “Number one: The man Umbreen is about to marry is not my granddad.”

Graham squinted towards the house. “Deffo? Totally sure?” Yaz was incredulous he would even ask that.

“ _Yes._ For starters, Prem’s a Hindu name, we’re Muslim. And he doesn’t look anything like the photos, it’s not him!”

“And that Umbreen, she’s your nan, right?” Ryan asked, gesturing towards the house with a point.

“Yeah. She does look like the photo.” Yaz nodded in confirmation. The Doctor’s eyebrows furrowed and the wrinkle between them creased in confusion.

“But Prem’s wearing the watch your Nani gave you in the future.”

Yaz shrugged, showing she didn’t know anymore than the Doctor did. “So, what? She had a secret Hindu first husband?”

Anything the Doctor may have said was interrupted by Graham and the blonde looked at him. “Uh, hey Doc. I reckon that hour’s nearly up right?”

“We can’t go.” The Doctor’s head whipped back around towards Yaz, eyes wide and disbelieving. Yaz ignored it. “We came here for answers, and all I’ve got are more questions.”

The Doctor groaned in frustration. “I knew this would happen.”

“Can anyone help me with this?” They were interrupted by Mannish’s return and they watched him come back around the house with his arms filled with ropes and flags and various other tools. Yaz looked at the Doctor, an almost apologetic look in her eyes as she answered.

“I’ll help!” The blonde’s mouth opened and closed in disbelief as she watched her friend back away from them. “I’m Yaz.” She introduced herself as she followed behind Mannish.

“Great, thanks, Yaz. Big moment, won’t forget this in a hurry.”

Yaz took one last look towards the Doctor, shrugging in some sort of apology even as she stepped further away. “You’re right there.”

The Doctor watched in shock as Yaz walked away before turning back to Graham and Ryan. “Shouldn’t have come. I’m too nice.” She shrugged her shoulders in exasperation. “This is what happens when you try to be nice.”

Ryan and Graham shared a short knowing look that the Doctor didn’t quite understand before looking back at the woman with sympathetic smiles. It was silent for a moment as they gazed at each other before the Doctor spoke again.

“Who wants to know what they’re listening to in there?” She gestured towards the house Umbreen and Prem had disappeared into. Graham and Ryan shared a look before shrugging.

“Yeah.”

Once inside they joined the others gathered around a small radio with a crackling voice coming through.

“ _…Has finally released specific details on the border which will separate the two countries.”_

“What borders are they talking about?” Ryan risked the potential to look stupid and asked the question Graham and the Doctor were wondering as well.

“Pakistan.” Umbreen’s mother replied. “Today India is officially cut into pieces.”

The Doctor’s eyes widen as the pieces click into place. “It’s the 17th of August.” She realized, drawing everyone’s attention to her. 

“And still you want to go ahead?” Umbreen’s mother asked her daughter, and it seemed to be a recurring subject if Umbreen’s eye roll was anything to go by.

“Nothing changes, mum. We knew this was coming.”

“I don’t mean to sound stupid, but what year is it?” Graham asked, his own mind working to put the puzzle together.

“Same year you have in England.” Prem answered, not looking away from the radio. “1947.”

“Partition.” The Doctor whispered to Graham and Ryan. “We’re in the middle of the Partition of India.”

* * *

“These are for the celebrations?” Yaz asked, watching Mannish hammer yet another post into the ground and connect it with the others with a rope complete with flags spaced out along it.

“Big celebrations.” Mannish confirmed, gesturing widely around him. “Welcome to the border, where India ends and our future begins.”

Yaz was about to question him when she heard footsteps pounding towards them, and a glance showed them to belong to the Doctor, who was quickly followed by Graham, Ryan and the rest of Umbreen’s family.

“What are you doing?” Prem questioned, making his way towards Mannish while the Doctor turned towards Yaz.

The Doctor was panting by the time she reached her and Yaz watched as she gathered herself and as Graham and Ryan caught up, both breathing hard themselves. “Hi, Yaz! Quick sidebar.” She took a few breaths. “August. 1947. Partition. The borders have just been announced.”

Realization washed over Yaz as she turned to look at Mannish. She had known something was wrong the second she had seen him. Her desperation for answers left her ignorant and she would do her best to make sure it didn’t happen again.

“India, Pakistan.” Mannish gestured in front of him before gesturing behind him respectively.

“And it’s not just the land that gets divided. Rioting in the cities, tens of millions of people about to be displaced, more than a million about to die.” The Doctor listed, but was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder from Graham.

“Doc. Meanwhile, her Nan’s about to get married but not to her granddad.”

“I’m thinking that hour’s well up now.” Ryan tried, and Yaz could tell he was beginning to panic. She herself was having a hard time keeping her thoughts straight as she was bombarded with all this information.

“You can’t know the borders, it’s only just been announced!” Umbreen said, confusion obvious in her voice.

“The maps were leaked weeks ago.” Mannish revealed. “I got one from my sources.”

“Your sources must be wrong. You’ve just put my house in Pakistan!” Umbreen’s mother gestured towards said house.

Mannish just nodded. “With the other Muslims!” There was an air of pride to his voice and aura that Yaz didn’t like, and she shook her head in disappointment, nearly missing similar looks from Prem, Umbreen and her mother. “What?” Mannish noticed it too. “You get a fresh start.”

“Mannish, you need to slow down.” Prem interrupted his brother, although he didn’t seem surprised by the turn of events.

“Pakistan is somewhere for Muslims _if_ they want to go.” Umbreen said, her hands curling into fists out of frustration.

“I’m not saying you have to go.” Mannish placated. “But, Pakistan is being created for Muslims. Hindus have India, we both feel safe.”

“Don’t reduce it to that, brother! It’s not that simple.” Prem implored, taking a few steps towards his brother. Mannish gazed back steadily.

“But I get you have a hard decision, if you’re married.”

Prem’s face shifted into frustration. “The land belongs to everyone, has done for centuries. One day doesn’t change that.”

Mannish was already shaking his head, his disagreement clear. “I love you, brother. But you’re _wrong_.”

The interruption after that was sudden, but no less forceful for it. Yaz doubled over in pain with a gasp as an ear-splitting sound crashed through her head, although she somehow knew that the others heard no such thing. Except maybe the Doctor, who had released her own gasp and grasped at the sides of her head in hopes of soothing the pain.

Yaz had her eyes closed but there were scenes flashing across her vision. Scenes of strange creatures and intrusive voices rolling through her brain.

She just barely caught the gasp from the others. “Look!” Umbreen’s mother exclaimed and Yaz straightened up just in time to see her pointing off towards the trees. Yaz was met with the sight of two creatures, ones that matched those that plowed through her mind, as they stood watching them from the tree line.

The Doctor had finally straightened up as well, pulling out her sonic and frantically waving it in front of her in an attempted scan.

“I told you this would happen. I told you these days were cursed!” Umbreen’s mother screeched, although the fear in her voice was obvious to all.

No sooner had the Doctor scanned the creatures that they disappeared again, right out of thin air it seemed. “It’s gone!” Umbreen said.

“Not far.” The Doctor informed them while still looking at her sonic readings, and the grimace on her face told Yaz that her head was likely still aching as well. “We’ll deal with this. Come on.”

Yaz and the two boys ran after the Doctor towards the tree line, leaving the confused family in their wake as they entered the forest.

“I’m going to find the signal, they can’t have gone far.” The Doctor insisted as she used her sonic once more. They were roughly a dozen yards into the forest and there was nothing to see but trees.

That is, until another ear-piercing screech sounded through the air. Ryan and Graham heard it this time as they ducked back and covered their ears in an attempt to shield them. Yaz and the Doctor were crouched over too, this pain only adding to the ache they were still attempting to rid themselves of. Yaz forced her head up slightly to see in front of them and wasn’t surprised when she saw the creatures once more.

A glance around them revealed to her that they were standing next to a tree, near a man who was sat upright against it. Another look showed him to be the holy man they had seen on the trail after they had just arrived. Unsurprisingly, it got worse when the creatures began to speak, sounding like their voices were slamming through their heads, amplified and barely audible through the ringing in them.

 _“Stay back!”_ The creatures said, reaching an open hand towards them in an attempt to stop them, not that they were able to move much anyway through the splitting screech radiating through their heads.

They were cut off by a gunshot and Yaz’s still doubled over form whipped around to see the source of it, her eyes widening when she was met with the sight of Prem with his rifle anchored against his shoulder and his eyes gazing steadily down the sights. She quickly swung her head around towards the creatures to see if either had been hit, but by the time she looked back they were already gone, vacating the area and their task.

“Did I get them?” Prem asked, already stepping towards the tree the creatures had just left.

“I don’t think so.” The Doctor replied, following after him. “They moved faster than your bullet.”

“Bhakti?” Prem called as he came up on the holy man, looking as if he was about to attempt to shake him awake.

Once they all gathered around the tree, and around the holy man, Yaz knelt down and placed her fingers against his pulse point, although from the lack of, well… anything she could feel from him she already knew what she’d find. The others sighed at her confirmation as she looked back at them and shook her head.

“He was your man on the road.” Graham said, watching as Yaz pulled herself out of her knelt position and stood next to the Doctor. The blonde was already pulling out her sonic and scanning the man in hopes of any answers.

“He’s a holy man. A Sadhu. Everyone knows him as Bhakti.” Prem explained, looking down at the mad sadly. “Umbreen and I asked him to bless our marriage. Why would they kill him?”

“I don’t know.” The Doctor admitted, looking at the readings in her hands. Soon after, however, her gaze shifted towards Prem, intense in a way that made the man squirm slightly. “But what I also don’t understand is that you just saw something not of this world, and you took it right in your stride.” The blonde paused for a moment, watching Prem’s face shift into something a bit more indicative of him being caught out. “Why is that, Prem?”

Prem gazed back at her, although he looked to be remembering something if the pain that flickered across his face was anything to go by.

“I’ve seen them before.” He admitted.

“Where have you seen them before?” Yaz questioned, although she was careful to keep any inflections out of her voice and kept it unassuming in hopes that they could get the story out of him. Prem sighed, closing his eyes as memories of things he’d rather be left alone flickered across the darkness.

Suddenly, his whole attitude changed. Yaz watched and felt him close himself off again before his eyes slammed open and landed on her.

“Who are you? You say you’re Umbreen’s family but clearly you’re not.” He looked at Yaz accusingly. “And you ran at those demons like you didn’t care.”

“I don’t think they’re demons.” The Doctor cut in, finally drawing Prem’s searching gaze away from Yaz and allowing her to sigh in quiet relief at the subject change as she looked towards the Doctor.

“Why should I trust what you think?” Prem questioned her, tone hardening in a way that was indicative of his fear.

The Doctor’s gaze didn’t waver, and she answered bluntly. “Because we’ve got experience with impossible creatures, and we ask questions like, ‘what is this substance on his body?’”

Looking down at the holy man Yaz realized that there was in fact a thin layer of a light powdery substance covering the entirety of his clothes and skin, and even as the Doctor drew attention to it, it began to float off him in smoke-like streams and disappear into the air.

“And things just keep getting weirder.” Ryan watched with wide eyes as he saw the same disappearance as everyone else.

“You think that’s what they used to kill him?” Graham asked, watching as the Doctor scanned Bhakti. “Some sort of fast dissolving poisonous dust?”

The Doctor was shaking her head as she looked at the readings before looking back at Graham. “He doesn’t read like he was poisoned. I don’t understand.” The blonde breathed out, her confusion clear as she looked down at the holy man.

“So, what are we going to tell the others back there?” Yaz asked, gesturing in the general direction of Umbreen and her mother.

“They don’t have to know.” Yaz turned to look at Prem, who was looking at her seriously. “Hasna already thinks the marriage is cursed, Umbreen doesn’t need anything else to worry about, and Mannish…” His voice shook slightly before hardening again. “Who knows what he thinks these days.”

Yaz’s eyebrows furrowed at the resignation in his voice as he continued. “I was away from him for too long fighting in the war. By the time I got back Mannish wasn’t my baby brother anymore.”

Prem obviously blamed himself and Yaz sent him a sympathetic smile. “It’s not on you. We all have to find our own way.”

He nodded in vague acceptance, although Yaz could tell he didn’t really believe her.

“Some of us need more guidance than others.” He said, finally looking away from her.

Graham, sensing the tension, began changing the subject, instead gesturing towards Bhakti where he still sat against the tree in front of them. “This fella needs to be laid to rest.” He looked towards Ryan and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t we go and get the others to help?”

Ryan just nodded in agreement and they turned away from the group as they began to walk back towards the tree line. Yaz watched the Doctor scan the area once more and gasp at the readings.

“Oh! Accordion waves. Which could mean a dormant optonic engine nearby!” Her eyes were wide as she looked between Yaz and Prem, although neither knew quite what she was saying.

“What’s she saying?” Prem asked Yaz, who looked back at him.

“If I had to guess, I’d say we’re about to go demon hunting.” She replied, knowing exactly what kind of things the Doctor tended to get into.

The Doctor smiled back at her. “Gold star for Yaz!” Her face crumpled slightly. “Or was I rewarding points?” The blonde groaned and her nose scrunched up. “Ugh! I forgot about the points!”

“I’m coming with you.” Both heads whipped to the side to see Prem looking back with a resolute look on his face. The Doctor was already shaking her head before he got through the sentence.

“No.” The Doctor bluntly denied, certain in her reply.

Prem pushed anyway. “I know this forest.” He eyes turned pleading, and Yaz knew he just wanted to be doing something. “I can help.”

The Doctor saw it too, and after a shared look with Yaz where the dark-haired woman gave her a ‘might-as-well’ shrug, she sighed and turned back to Prem. “Okay.” She relented before turning towards where the boys were still fairly close by.

“Graham!” The man turned around at the sound of his name and Ryan came to a stop as well, both watching as the Doctor ran over and leveled them both with a serious look.

“Be careful what you say back there, you’re treading on Yaz’s history.” She warned, and they all looked behind her to see Yaz still standing near Prem. The Doctor turned back to catch the boys’ eyes, waiting to make sure they were looking back and understanding before she left.

It was with a determined nod from both boys that she finally turned to walk back towards Prem and Yaz, the latter of which looked at her with a questioning glance.

“What did you say to them?” Yaz asked as the Doctor came to stand in front of her, glancing at the boys before her eyes returned to the Doctor. The blonde shrugged slightly in dismissal.

“Just letting them know the plan.” Yaz looked over the Doctor’s features in an attempt to read her, as she was sure the woman was lying about what she told Graham and Ryan, but the Doctor just gazed back steadily, not revealing anything.

Yaz sighed, deciding to let it go and she heard the Doctor’s quiet sigh of relief when she looked away with a nod.

“Okay.” The Doctor looked between Yaz and Prem. “Ready to go demon hunting?”


	13. You're a Doctor, Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dang, hey guys! It's been a hot minute, I know, and I'm sorry!
> 
> My family just moved into our house a few weeks ago and I've been mad busy with summer classes and just making preparations for this fall, but hopefully I'll be able to update more regularly now!  
> I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

“I don’t like this.” Prem broke the silence once again as his gaze shifted uneasily between the two women in front of him and the trees scattered throughout his line of sight, hands tightly gripping his rifle as if he worried someone would take it from him. “Traipsing through the forest alongside the British, looking for the enemy.”

Yaz and the Doctor shared a glance, soundlessly sighing at the man’s continued distrust, but neither offered a spoken reply, rather choosing to glance back with raised eyebrows and slight downturns of lips before focusing once again on the forest and the sound of the foliage crunching beneath their feet as the Doctor pulled her sonic out and began scanning the trees.

“Done enough of that. Although, maybe you’re my enemy now for the mess you just made in my country. Carving it up and slapdash in six weeks.” He glared at the Doctor, his eyes narrowed in accusation. “Gonna run off home now, are you?”

The Doctor made a noise, still scanning but visibly irritated at the continued interrogation from Prem. “I’ll make a note of your thoughts and pass them on to Mountbatten if I ever bump into him again.”

Yaz raised an eyebrow at the sarcasm but ignored it, instead choosing to lean towards the blonde and ask her own question. “These demon things, have you seen them before? Or do you reckon they’re here because of the partition?”

“I don’t know.” The Doctor looked at her even as she continued her scan. “Need to find out.”

“Then he’s got one up on you if he’s seen them before you.” A short tilt of Yaz’s head in Prem’s direction made it clear who she was talking about. The Doctor’s eyes tracked towards him and she watched him scan the trees warily, thankfully not paying enough attention to them to realize they were talking about him.

Yaz could tell easily that the Doctor was uncomfortable with Prem having knowledge that she herself didn’t, but it was well hidden when she faced forward again and allowed the buzz of her sonic to fill the air.

“What’s your demon tracker say?” Prem asked, and they slowed down as the blonde stared down at the tech incomprehensibly.

“It says – ”

“Doctor.”

The Doctor was interrupted by Yaz’s voice and she looked towards her companion, realizing she wasn’t even looking at her, but rather out in front of them. The blonde’s eyes were drawn in that direction and she was surprised, as well as slightly miffed that she didn’t see it at first herself, to see a clearing in the trees and, as her eyes tracked down, something buried in the dirt at their feet.

She took a few steps towards it, her eyes already beginning to widen in excitement as she leant over to get a closer look.

“What is it?” Yaz asked, watching the Doctor scan the object.

The blond held the sonic up to her face to get a good look at the readings, squinting at the small screen as she did so. “Seems like a transmat – ”

The world spun for a second before coming back into focus, although now it was much darker, and they didn’t seem to be in the same place they were before.

“ –doorway.” The Doctor finished lamely, dropping the hand holding her sonic back down to her side as she looked at their new surroundings.

What was once trees and foliage is now cold metal surrounding them on all sides and a dim blue light radiating from a single console in the center of the room, all complete with a low humming that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.

The Doctor heard a click and looked over to see Prem raising his rifle up and resting it in the crook of his shoulder, keeping it steady as he aimed down the sights, although the Doctor knew it wouldn’t be much help against whatever they were after.

Yaz looked around with wide eyes, not sure how to feel about what just happened, or even sure about what happened in the first place.

“What just happened?” Prem asked, unknowingly pulling the question from her head. His voice shook slightly as he held his rifle tightly against his shoulder. “We were in the forest and now we’re… really not.”

“Short answer, we’ve been dragged through a doorway into –”

“A demon’s lair?”

The Doctor grimaced at the man’s interruption as well as his conclusion. “I wouldn’t put it quite like that but you’re getting the gist.”

Yaz watched the blonde begin scanning again. “So a spaceship then, right?” She ventured, taking a few steps towards the center of the room. The Doctor didn’t offer an answer as she looked down at the sonic readings.

“I can’t get a read on anything.” She admitted, eyes narrowed at the tech as if that would encourage an answer out of it.

“It’s beautiful.” Prem said, and Yaz looked over at him, surprised at his newfound enthrallment and she could tell the Doctor was as well even as the blonde kept her gaze ahead, although she was nodding her head in agreement as she did so.

“Yeah you’re right.” She agreed, her voice slightly muffled by the sound of the sonic’s buzzing. “It really is. They can surprise you, demons.”

Yaz looked around, acceptance finally setting in as she began scanning the room herself, analyzing the area in an attempt to find an answer about where they were. She shut her eyes and felt around with her powers, tapping into that deep connection they allowed her to have with her surroundings, searching over and through everything for any hint of what was happening.

Even with her powers, all she could feel was the cold metal around them and the vibrations running through it. They were alone for the moment at least, and it was the knowledge that the demons could show up at any second that forced a certain wariness in Yaz.

“Do you think they’re here?” Prem asked, and Yaz shared a look with the Doctor. The negative shake of her head and uneasy look was missed by the man as he looked around, but the Doctor caught the expression and scanned with her sonic to be certain.

“No life forms.” She said, although her cautious expression matched Yaz’s own. “Maybe they’re out. Shopping, or catching a movie. Or bowling, some races like bowling. I’m talking to cover up my latent worry.”

Yaz rolled her eyes at the Doctor’s lack of subtlety, although her own worry kept her from saying anything in response. Instead, she decided to watch the Doctor make her way towards the center of the room, where a small console resided. There seemed to be something inside of it and the blonde was already attempting to open it, although the irritated groan and consequent fumbling with her sonic was revealing it to be unsuccessful.

“C’mon.” The Doctor groaned, tapping at her sonic after another attempt. “One of these settings must unlock it.”

No sooner than she’d made her next attempt did something happen. Yaz’s eyes widened as the console seemed to power up, a red light shining into the air above it and forming a holographic image made up of semi-circles and rotating shapes complete with a small logo in the center, although Yaz couldn’t recognize what it was.

“What is that?” Yaz asked her, her eyes staying locked on the shapes hovering in the air in front of her.

“Exactly what I wanted.” The Doctor revealed, positively radiating excitement. “Species data, bio ID.” She listed, leaning in towards it to get a closer look.

Yaz’s head whipped towards the blonde as she let out a quiet gasp and hazel eyes finally broke their contact with the shapes in front of her, instead moving to flick around the room in wide-eyed realization.

“What?” Yaz asked, nearly able to see the Doctor’s thoughts with how quickly they seemed to be racing through her head, and she could feel the anxiety flowing off the woman and filling the air between them. “Doctor, where are we?”

The Doctor hesitated for a moment, still not looking at her companion and leaving both her and Prem to look in her direction uneasily.

“This is a Thijarian Hive.” The blonde whispered, as though that would make it less certain.

“That doesn’t sound like a good thing.” In fact, Yaz was sure it wasn’t, if the fearful expression on the Doctor’s face was anything to go by, not to mention the panic completely overtaking her aura until there wasn’t much else for Yaz to ascertain. The blonde was already shaking her head in response.

“Thijarians are assassins.” The Doctor explained, continuing before either of the other two could get a word in, Prem’s fearful energy increasing tenfold even as his face remained motionless. “I’ve heard of them but I’ve never come across them.”

The blonde finally turned to face them and Yaz wasn’t sure what to make of the look on her face as she explained further. “They’re one of the ancient species. Evolved themselves into the deadliest assassins of the known universe.”

The Doctor cut herself off as she directed her sonic towards the console once more, though this time another image appeared, blurry at first but was soon clear enough to become something they could recognize. It was a face, and a familiar one at that, as it was shown to be the holy man that they found murdered not long ago.

“He was their target?” Yaz asked uncertainly, eyebrows furrowing as though her words weren’t quite making sense even to herself. There was something else happening but there was no telling what it was with how little information they had available at the moment.

The Doctor seemed to agree. “Why though? Why would the Thijarians target a holy man in the 1940s?” She ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to dispel her frustration. Her attention turned to Prem, who nearly startled under the sudden scrutiny from the blonde.

“You said you’ve seen them.” The Doctor recalled him saying as much. “Where?”

Prem’s reaction was immediate. He clammed up and looked away from the Doctor’s searching gaze. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

Yaz felt the Doctor’s frustration rise at the man’s effort to evade the question but chose to stay silent, instead allowing the blonde to follow her line of inquiry. “It could be important.” The Doctor insisted.

“I don’t want any of this!”

Yaz and the Doctor were shocked at Prem’s sudden outburst, both sharing a glance as the man raked his hands through his hair as an indication of his increasing anxiety. It was obviously a fear reaction, that much Yaz could tell even without being an empath, but she was getting the feeling there was a lot more than what the man was letting on, especially when she really focused and could feel a sliver of guilt within the stress.

“What happened?” Yaz felt the attention of both the Doctor and Prem snap to her at her sudden question, but her focus was on the latter who was looking at her with wide eyes and uneasiness in his expression.

“During the war.” She clarified, pressing a bit more. “Where have you seen them before?”

There must have been something about the way Yaz spoke to him, with surety that there was much more to the man, or maybe he was just tired of keeping it to himself and wanted someone to share the burden with, but Prem began speaking, telling them his story as they listened intently, with Yaz and the Doctor on the opposite side of the console from him.

“It was in Singapore. Our section had found the boat to escape on.” His eyes glazed over as he got lost in his memories, but he didn’t pause.

“But I’d signed up with Kunal, and I wasn’t going to leave without him by my side, so I went back to look for him, calling his name. That’s when I saw them, standing over my older brother’s dead body.”

Prem went silent for a moment, the flashbacks obviously taking up the forefront of his mind before he shook his head slightly, as if trying to shake them out of his head. “I lost them in the haze as the evacuation sounded.” His gaze and hand went to the necklace Yaz was just realizing was there at all, and a closer look showed it to be a metal figurine of a soldier, handing loosely from Prem’s neck from a thin metal chain.

“I left his body there. I couldn’t save him.” His eyes lifted again to flick between the two women, showing them the regret that lived on his face and clearly still haunted him even in current days.

“Why are they here?” He asked, desperate for answers that neither women could give. “How did we bring demons on ourselves?”

“I don’t know.” The Doctor admitted. “But we’ll find out. I will protect you. All of you.”

Prem’s stare was intense as he looked back at her. “What if you can’t?”

Any reply the Doctor may have had was interrupted by a whirring sound coming from the console between them, and they watched as a hatch opened, lifting a cannister and bringing it into their view. Yaz leaned forwards to get a look at it, and her eyes widened at the purple powder she could see swirling inside, recognizable to her by the remembrance of the holy man’s body, which had been coated in a thin layer of the substance.

“That was the stuff on the holy man’s body.” Yaz stated, watching as the Doctor leaned closer to the cannister as well.

“Ah, taking a look at that.” And without further preamble and without giving Yaz any chance to stop her, the Doctor reached out and plucked the cannister from it’s pedestal. Immediately, the dim blue light flashed into an angry red and an alarm pierced through the air unexpected, causing all of them to flinch back in surprise.

“Over keen, should’ve thought that through better.” The Doctor admitted, moving to stand next to Prem and indicating Yaz to follow with a tilt of her head. Yaz watched the Doctor look around warily, and she could figure that the woman was waiting for whatever was coming to respond to the alarm.

It was only seconds later that something happened. The creatures they had been chasing appeared in front of them, and Yaz was once again subjected to the earsplitting sound of their voices cutting through her head as well as the accompanying pain. She brought her hands up to cover her ears as if that would stop the voices, but if anything it almost seemed to get louder, the voices violently shoving their way into her head as she doubled over, vaguely registering the Doctor and Prem doing the same.

“ _You have desecrated the Hive. The Hive is sacred.”_

The Doctor groaned through the pain and forced herself to look up at the aliens who were standing with their hands crossed in front of them. “Do you _have_ to push your words into our heads like that? Because it _really hurts!_ ” She glared. “And _no,_ we haven’t actually, it’s _you_ who are desecrating _this planet!_ I know who you are, I know what you do, and it’s not happening here. _Leave_ these people alone, they’re under _my_ protection now.”

“ _You cannot prevent this.”_

“You just watch me.” The Doctor grunted out as her final words before pulling out her sonic and pressing a button. Next thing Yaz knew they were back outside in the forest, as if they had never been anywhere else at all. She was still doubled over from the pain but was quick to pull herself upright again when the Doctor pushed her up the hill back the way they came, Prem following closely behind.

They were nearly out of sight of the Hive entrance when the Doctor stopped suddenly, her eyes going to a tree off the trail and widening slightly. Yaz stopped as well, finally noticing what got the Doctor’s attention. It was obviously some sort of alien tech, glowing a bright blue, but Yaz couldn’t even begin figuring out what it does. Regardless, she was interrupted by a short sound that she could realize was not a forest sound.

It was more of a _woosh_ and a look back towards the Thijarian Hive showed the sound to be a result of the aliens making their own way out of the ship.

The Doctor looked towards the aliens. “Miniaturized transmat locks. Clever. Also, confiscated.” The Thijarians could only watch as the blonde snatched the lock off the tree and set off at a run that Yaz and Prem had to race to catch up to.

They made their way out of the forest quickly, with the Doctor stopping every dozen or so yards to pluck more transmat locks from their placements on various trees and the three of them were well and truly out of breath by the time they made it back to the fields around the family’s house. Graham and Ryan had been alerted of their presence by their approaching footsteps and made their way towards them quickly, surprised at how out of breath they were and a little nervous about why they were running in the first place.

“Get to the barn!” The Doctor yelled towards them as they ran, the distance between the two groups closing rapidly.

Yaz watched the two men slow to a stop and share a look before hesitantly turning the other way and beginning their jog towards the barn, the other three making their way after them quickly and the Doctor stopping every few yards to put down a transmat lock and fiddle with it, aiming her sonic at it and changing the blue to a glowing red.

All five of them were out of breath by the time they all made it to the barn and they all took a minute to get their breathing out of control. Yaz recovered first, then the Doctor, then the three men soon after.

Looking over at the Doctor, who had just placed the cannister on the floor, Yaz realized she was still holding one of the transmat locks and watched as she placed it on one of the columns supporting the roof of the barn. But before she could activate it, the barn door slammed open and Umbreen and her mother entered.

“No! Stay out!” The Doctor attempted to keep them away, arm outstretched in front of her, but it was too late, as that familiar ear-piercing shriek sounded through the air, promptly followed by the arrival of the Thijarians.

“ _You disrupt our work.”_ They stated, and Yaz could tell even through her headache that they were more irritated rather than angry, and her eyebrows furrowed at the mild emotion, her mind racing in thought.

“Good.” The Doctor said simply, wincing from her own pain. “Now, who are you here for?”

_“We don’t answer to you. You must leave, or we will stand over your corpses.”_

Again, their aura was less threatening than Yaz would have thought, even through the obviously threatening words meant to scare them. It confused her but there was no way to even attempt to put the pieces together through the loudness in her head.

“Is it me?” Heads snapped around at Prem’s interruption, the man taking a few steps forward to stand slightly in front of everyone else. “Are you here to kill me? Take me, and promise to leave the others.”

“Prem, no!” Umbreen reached forward and gripped Prem’s sleeve, pulling him back towards her with a harsh tug. “Not going to happen.”

“Both of you, I’m dealing with this.” The Doctor’s words were confident, but Yaz could tell it wasn’t quite authentic by the tense atmosphere surrounding the blonde. Regardless, she stayed quiet as the Doctor turned back to the aliens. “I’ve just nicked four of your transmat locks out of the forest. Good trick by the way, forcing people back away from the boundary. Clever. So clever, in fact, that I’m using it myself, against you, locking you out of this farm.”

It was with those final words that her arm swung around, sonic in hand, towards the transmat lock, the telltale buzzing filling the air as she activated it in her favor and the original blue of the lock turned a bright red, and the Thijarians were forced out, leaving the rest of them breathing hard into the silence.

“You killed the demons?” Prem asked hopefully, staring at the recently vacated spot with wide eyes.

The Doctor shook her head as she turned to look at them. “No. Just exiled them, for now. I made a temporary transmat barrier around the farm. I’m hoping it’ll keep them out for the next few hours. Enough time for you to get married and for us to keep everyone safe.”

A scoff broke through her speech and everyone turned to search for the source, nobody having to look far before Mannish spoke up. “Are you serious? After everything that’s just happened?” He looked towards his brother. “Can’t you see what’s happening? You bring demons to life.”

“I don’t think they’re demons.” The Doctor stated, but Yaz was focusing on Mannish’s inflection rather than his words. There was something about him that seemed wrong.

“Well, I do.” Umbreen’s mother interrupted. “I’m with Mannish.”

Umbreen rolled her eyes and turned to the Doctor. “How many hours?”

“Twelve? Eighteen at a push but I can’t be sure.”

Umbreen nodded as the information set in before looking around at them as determination overtook anything else. “Alright. Tonight, we celebrate, then we marry first thing. And then if we have to fight them, we will.”

Everyone looked after her with wide eyes as she made her way out of the barn, prompting her family to follow her with a, “Come on!”

The Doctor waited until it was just the four of them before she crouched down next to where she had placed to cannister, and Yaz was quick to follow, kneeling in front of her.

“Still not interfering, are we?” Yaz asked with a glint in her eye, smirking when the Doctor looked back at her with wide eyes filled with indignation.

“Oi! The alien assassins started it!” Yaz raised an eyebrow at the childish response, not answering verbally but letting her expression speak for her.

The Doctor sighed. “We can’t leave now. If something happens to Umbreen, your whole timeline could be erased. No Yaz! We can’t have a universe with no Yaz!”

Yaz’s eyebrows furrowed at the fervency in the blonde’s voice, although she could feel herself blushing slightly and was glad her skin tone made it hard to see as she saw the Doctor’s cheeks tinge pink.

The Doctor was quick to move on, shaking her head as if snapping herself out of something and instead reaching for the cannister and standing up with it to bring it over to the table against the far wall across from the door.

“Now, whatever’s in here might tell us more.” 

They watched the Doctor open the cannister, her face screwed up in excitement as she aimed her sonic at the substance inside, nearly touching it with the tip of the instrument. The near centimeter distance from the powder widened quickly as the sonic began sparking and the Doctor quickly pulled it back towards her, eyes wide although they quickly narrowed when she looked at the readings.

“It’s overloaded my sonic! Too many inputs. That’s never happened.” Her face scrunched up as if she was offended on the sonic’s behalf, which, considering she built the tech, she probably was. The Doctor sighed. “I have to go analog.”

“What do you mean?” Ryan asked from across the room where he had escaped to when the sonic had begun sending sparks in every direction just moments prior.

“I mean I’ll have to break down the components myself.” The Doctor explained quickly before turning towards them. “I’ll need oil, water, tree bark, a saucepan, nine containers, an old newspaper, a touch of ox spit, a chicken poo, and a biscuit.”

“Bagsy, not chicken poo!” Ryan had barely let the blonde finish her list before he cut in, and Graham sighed, knowing that likely meant that he would be the one sent to get said chicken poo, especially considering the expression of distaste that had made its home on Yaz’s face.

“Why a biscuit?” Graham asked.

“I love biscuits!”

* * *

It wasn’t until hours later that they reconvened in the barn, when the heat of the day had died down and the sun was low over the horizon. They were all in various positions of relaxation around the barn, with both Ryan and Graham sitting on a hay bail off the side while Yaz stood slightly behind the Doctor and her contraption that she had spent at least an hour putting together.

Yaz watched the water they had brought back flow through the various tubes and containers as the Doctor added a spoonful of the purple substance that was in the cannister. Her head tilted at the machine in curiosity and she stepped towards the Doctor when she could no longer hold it in.

“So, what is it?” She asked, allowing her eyes to roam along the various components.

“Science.” The Doctor said, hands on her hips in a proud stance as she watched her work.

“How does it work?”

Yaz watched as the Doctor’s eyes lit up at the prospect of explaining something and couldn’t help her own amusement as the blonde began speaking. “The water will break the bonds of whatever is in that powder, and that will in turn make those components into simpler substances that the sonic should be able to read.”

Yaz nodded in understanding. Science had always been her favorite subject and she was sure she would have studied it at university had she not gone into the police force. “That’s cool.” She admitted, and watched as the Doctor smiled proudly.

Any further conversation was cut off by the sound of the barn door creaking open, and each of them whirled around in a panic at what could possibly be coming through those doors. As soon as they caught side of Umbreen, however, they all heaved silent breaths of relief, although there was still a tension surrounding them caused by the woman herself.

Umbreen looked surprised at the sudden attention on her but quickly snapped out of it, shaking her head as she looked back at them. “Are you coming or not?”

Her eyes suddenly locked on the contraption behind them and they narrowed in suspicion. “What is that?”

The Doctor looked towards it as well as she stuttered out a response. “Er, it’s a part of my uh- demon repellent.”

“That better be gone by tomorrow.”

“Definitely.” The Doctor nodded fervently in agreement, relieved when Umbreen seemed to let it go.

“So, come on. Women with me and mum, men over at Prem’s house.” And with that, she turned promptly and made her way out of the barn, leaving the other four to stand there and awkwardly look between each other.

The Doctor’s steps stuttered slightly in uncertainty and she looked back towards Yaz, who nodded after Umbreen encouragingly. The blonde took one last look towards the boys.

“We’ll meet back here later tonight, okay?”

And once she got dual nods of agreement, she walked out with Yaz just behind her and they made there way over to Umbreen’s.

* * *

The Doctor looked down wide eyed at the newly drawn design on her hands, amazement obvious in the glint in her eyes and the small smile on her face.

“This is the best thing ever!” Yaz smiled at the wonder on the blonde’s face and almost completely missed her next sentence, although when it did register the smile dropped off her face immediately.

“Never did this when I was a man.”

Yaz shut her eyes and attempted to contain the heavy sigh that wanted to escape her at the Doctor’s indiscretion. “Doctor…” Her eyes opened and she looked at the blonde with a hidden glare. “You and your jokes.”

It seemed the Doctor was just then realizing her slip up, as her mouth tightened in an apology. A fake smile remained as the looked between Umbreen and her mother awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s right. My references to body and gender regeneration are all in jest. I’m such a comedian.”

Yaz shook her head at the shaky cover up, but they moved on regardless as the conversation continued.

“Umbreen doesn’t think these are my best work.” Umbreen’s mother said, looking down at her own hands. “But maybe if you had to prepare a body this morning, you wouldn’t draw so well either.”

A sadness saturated the room, as easy to feel as the floor beneath Yaz’s crossed legs, although there was an undertone as fear as well from both Umbreen and her mother. The feeling was heavy, and Yaz let out a quiet sigh into the silence, drawing only the Doctor’s attention to her.

Yaz brushed her off with a shrug before turning to Umbreen and attempting to break through the melancholy that had made its home in the atmosphere. “So, how long have you and Prem known each other?”

The feeling lessened immediately as the woman began thinking of her soon to be husband, and Yaz’s heart clenched at the appearance of the almost childlike giddiness that radiated off her.

“Our whole lives. We grew up here together. Our families have worked the land alongside each other for generations.” Umbreen’s smile widened. “I can’t believe it’s happening. I waited so long for him. All the time he was away fighting, I was terrified he wouldn’t come home. But, he did, and now I see my life mapped out with him. Our home, here.”

Yaz had to work to keep her face neutral, to not let it crumple as she realized how much Umbreen felt for Prem. It was getting to be incredibly difficult to not want them to work out, but she wasn’t heartless, and it didn’t take an empath to see the absolute devotion between the two.

“If we’re allowed to stay here.”

Yaz was pulled back into the conversation by Umbreen’s mother, and she watched as the content expression fell from Umbreen’s face and her eyes narrowed.

“Nobody cares what we do here, mum. It’s not a city.”

“I stood outside earlier, and I heard gangs in the distance. Motor vehicles, gunshots.”

Umbreen shook her head, although it was obvious that her mother’s fear was beginning to get to her. “That’s a long way away.”

Her mother sighed. “It’s not too late. I can still find you a good Muslim man.”

Umbreen scoffed, and her eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you being serious?”

“Look at the misery that follows him! You don’t even have a priest. What sort of respectable wedding will it be?”

“I don’t care about tradition! I don’t care about respectable – wait.” Yaz watched as an expression washed over Umbreen’s face, and dread began rising in her as she realized it was something akin to realization. The woman looked over at the Doctor, and Yaz’s eyes shut as she immediately knew what was about to happen, and she immediately knew the outcome.

“You’re a Doctor, right?” Umbreen asked the blonde, scarcely waiting for a confirmation before turning back to her mother. “That’s respectable!” Back to the Doctor. “You could marry us!”

“I suppose I could.”

Yaz sighed as the scene played out exactly as she thought it would, but she leaned towards the Doctor anyway as mother and daughter fell into their own argument. “Thought we weren’t getting involved?”

“Just a tiny bit.” The Doctor shrugged apologetically and her lips tightened, as it she was just now realizing that this may not be a good thing. The blonde watched as her friend drug a hand down her face in frustration, sighing heavily as they tuned back into their counterpart’s conversation, which soon turned back to other things.

They went to bed within the hour, leaving Yaz and the Doctor to quietly make their way back to the barn.


End file.
